The NBA trade deadline is nearly two months away, but Monday was the unofficial tipoff of trade season around the association.
With players who signed contracts this past offseason now eligible to be traded, we’ll soon see an uptick in deals as teams work to fortify their rosters for the playoffs and/or acquire assets to build for the future.
The Celtics have swung at least one in-season trade every year since 2021, ranging in significance from the big swing for Derrick White in 2022 to the modest dumping of Jaden Springer’s salary this past February.
After jettisoning four rotation players this offseason to escape the second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax, Boston is unlikely to make any moves that would push it back above that threshold. But that’s about the only certainty for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and his staff as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches.
Off to an encouraging 15-10 start with a revamped roster and without rehabbing superstar Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have the flexibility to add players who could help them this season if they so choose. They also could opt for a more future-focused approach that involves dipping beneath the first apron (which would require trimming roughly $4 million in salary from their payroll) or exiting the luxury tax entirely (just over $12 million).
The Celtics’ trade deadline approach could hinge on how they perform over the next six weeks. They’ve exceeded expectations thus far, carrying the Eastern Conference’s third-best record into Monday’s matchup with the first-place Detroit Pistons at TD Garden.
Regardless of where the Celtics stand once February arrives, guard Anfernee Simons will be a name to watch in potential trade discussions. Acquired from Portland this offseason in the Jrue Holiday trade, Simons is on a $27.7 million expiring contract, which Boston could either offload to lower its tax bill or use to acquire help at a different position.
Simons, a former starter with the Trail Blazers, is averaging 13.1 points, 2.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game this season as the Celtics’ sixth man, shooting 43.3% from the field and 39.2% from 3-point range. His 2025-26 salary is fourth-highest on the team behind Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
The Celtic with the fifth-highest salary, veteran wing Sam Hauser, is another possible trade candidate. Hauser is making $10 million in Year 1 of a four-year, $45 million extension. He’s on pace for career lows in field-goal percentage (34.5%) and 3-point shooting percentage (34.2%), and Boston has gotten quality contributions from a stable of young wings that includes Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman.
Boston also now has the option to aggregate salaries and send out cash in trades, which it did not last season as a second-apron team. That means it could, for example, package together a player making $10 million and a player making $2.5 million to acquire one with a $12.5 million salary.
One area of concern for the Celtics: depth behind starting center Neemias Queta. Queta has played well this season, but backups Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman all have fallen out of head coach Joe Mazzulla’s regular rotation. Reinforcing that group ahead of the trade deadline would be a logical move.