The Celtics made their second trade of deadline week on Thursday afternoon, agreeing to send Chris Boucher to the Utah Jazz, a league source confirmed to MassLive.
The move ends the brief Celtics tenure for Boucher who had fallen out of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation since November, having played just one game since Nov. 23. The team had scratched him from their two-game road trip in Texas for personal reasons as trade rumors swirled in the past week.
Given that Boucher is on a veteran’s minimum contract, the Jazz are likely just receiving cash in the deal from Boston to take on the big man. He also becomes a potential buyout candidate for Utah given their spot in the standings.
The Celtics suddenly have some intriguing options now in the final hours before the trade deadline. The team now has two open roster spots after moving Boucher’s deal that could be filled via trade, buyout market or an internal promotion from a two-way player. Given Boston’s cap and luxury tax situation, look for those spots to remain out for now unless other payroll is cut from the roster.
Boston also sits just $3.7 million above the luxury tax line. The team would need to either dump multiple veteran’s minimum salaries before the deadline to dip under that deal or swap out a bigger contract. The Celtics currently have just six players making above $3 million on their roster this season so even trimming $3.7 million from their books won’t be easy without moving a high-priced player. Sam Hauser would be a potential candidate there, but he’s been stellar in a starting role for the past month.
It’s also noteworthy that the team has not made the acquisition of Nikola Vucevic for Anfernee Simons official yet so additional tweaks could be made to that swap hypothetically. Simons was present at a Bulls shootaround on Thursday morning per multiple reports.
Ultimately, it will become clear soon just how much this team prioritizes getting under the tax line this season.
The NBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET