The 2025-26 Boston Celtics were supposed to be taking a gap year. That has not been the case as Boston is 2nd in the Eastern Conference and looking to make another deep playoff run with the return of Jayson Tatum.
However, before the playoffs start, let’s look ahead to what is to come for the Celtics this summer.
Currently, Boston has 12 players under contract for next season, including team options on Jordan Walsh, Amari Williams and Max Shulga.
I think they’ll pick up Walsh’s option, decline Shulga’s (and bring him back on a new two-way contract) and either pick up Williams’ or decline it and give him a new multi-year deal. My guess would be the latter.
They’ll also need to sign Ron Harper Jr. to standard deal because he is out of two-way eligibility. That leaves us with 12 standard players and 2 two-way players.
They have two picks in the draft. They’ll use the first round pick — this draft is too good to not add a player, even as late as they’ll be picking. They also have a 2nd round pick from Milwaukee, projected to be 40th overall right now. I think they’ll trade that one to get more future 2nd round picks and more flexibility with the roster.
Another factor in these plans is whether the Celtics want to stay under the tax in 2026-27 to eliminate the repeater tax and then go spend big in 2027-28 when Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh and Luka Garza are set to be free agents.
Right now, the Celtics are projected to be $19 million under the luxury tax for next season. Add in Harper’s likely minimum salary and the 27th pick in the draft’s salary, that likely leaves the Celtics with around $13 million to spend on their non-tax payer mid-level exception or the $27 million trade exception they have from the Anfernee Simons-Nikola Vucevic trade.
They likely won’t spend all of that money and the part they do could be on a center.
Isaiah Hartenstein will be out of the Celtics price range. I also think Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams will be as well but if they aren’t, they would be at the top of my list.
Day’Ron Sharpe has a $6.5 million team option with the Nets that I suspect they will pick up or do a decline and extend but that is another guy I would love the Celtics to get if possible.
Outside of that there are a bunch of older bigs and younger unproven players that I am not sure I would want. Vucevic, Brook Lopez, Al Horford, and Jusuf Nurkic are some names the Celtics could consider this summer but those guys are old and Vucevic, Lopez and Nurkic aren’t great defensively.
If they elected to go in a different direction, they could add an impact guy who can either start or play off of the bench as a wing or a guard. Anfernee Simons, Harrison Barnes, and Collin Sexton are some options Boston could sign.
There is also the argument that they should spend more this summer and into the tax. The Celtics are really good, but we have yet to see what this group looks like in a playoff series. Maybe that will expose some flaws that they’ll need to address this summer.
They might need to add another big and another ball handler. Relying on a player that you pick with the 26th or 27th pick in the draft is not a wise decision. The repeater tax is not a concern of the fan, even if it makes sense to avoid, there are no basketball reasons to avoid it. It isn’t like the 2nd apron, where they take away draft picks and restrict how teams can make trades.
So yes, resetting the repeater tax makes sense for the Celtics to do but as a fan, there is no upside to it. Especially if they aren’t serious about spending during the summer of 2027. Yet, I still expect them to stay under the tax next season.
I don’t expect huge changes to the Celtics roster or rotation this summer. They have shown this season that they have a bunch of good role players and a full season plus a return to 100% for Jayson Tatum might be the only addition they need, outside of the draft. However, I am hopeful they will add another impact player off of the bench.