The Celtics continued tweaking their roster ahead of the 3 p.m. trade deadline Thursday. This time, they moved Chris Boucher to the Jazz as part of a cost-cutting move. That deal follows the Anfernee Simons trade where the Celtics acquired Nikola Vucevic from the Bulls.
The C’s are now about $3.6 million above the luxury tax line, meaning there could be further moves. That’s notable because dipping under the luxury tax would serve the Celtics well for future flexibility. The C’s saved roughly $6 million in the Vucevic trade, then they moved Boucher’s $2.3 million cap hit to Utah.
There’s also another important salary cap benefit the Celtics got that could be important in the coming days. Before the trades this week, the C’s were above the first apron of the salary, but they’re now under it. As a result, the Celtics are now eligible to sign waived players that made more than $14.1 million.
Under the current CBA rules, teams above the first apron aren’t allowed to sign waived players who made more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is that $14.1 million number. In layman’s term, the Celtics are now allowed to sign any player on the buyout market as opposed to guys who made too much money.
The Celtics currently have two open roster spots following the Boucher trade. They had 14 rostered players throughout the season, one less than the maximum. They’re now at 13. Depending on what other moves the Celtics make, they could look to sign someone from the buyout market to shore out the rest of their roster.
While the C’s shored up their front court depth by acquiring Vucevic, it does mean they’re thin at the guard spot. Simons was used as a sixth man who could hunt for his own shots and handle the ball. But for now, the Celtics only have two ball-handlers in Payton Pritchard and Derrick White.
So if the Celtics don’t make another move to grab a guard, that’s one area they’ll likely address through the buyout market. There should be some guards who could come in and contribute for the Celtics, like Lonzo Ball, Chris Paul, Mike Conley or more names.