The Boston Celtics are going to need to make some significant moves this summer, and a lot of them will involve dumping salary to a third team. Considering how much cap space the Brooklyn Nets are slated to have this offseason—just over $55.7 million—they make the most sense as a consistent partner in trades (if the Celtics can get to them first).
Any team looking to shed salary this summer will be calling up the Nets’ phones, but if the Celtics want to secure their help, they need to put themselves at the front of the line. And in most of the potential deals that could unfold, Boston would have to ship out picks to Brooklyn.
The Nets will essentially be stealing the Celtics’ draft picks in exchange for taking on salary. But Boston will be in on the heist.
**Nets are perfect third team to help the Celtics in trades (but at what cost?)**
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Boston has been a second-apron team for the past two seasons. As a result, they need to dip below the line next year in order to avoid severe CBA penalties that will impact their ability to put together contending rosters for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, that means they need to clear over $20 million in cap, and that’s without factoring in the need to sign rookies and re-sign the likes of Luke Kornet and Al Horford. With all of that included, the real numbers could clock in at over $30 million.
That leaves the Celtics in a very sticky situation—they need to send out a lot of money without taking much back.
They have guys who can be traded. Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday immediately come to mind as potential trade candidates, and teams might be interested. Porzingis’ expiring contract makes him enticing, and Holiday is still a championship-level role player.
However, the teams that may want to add those guys would have to send money out. And while the Celtics could take on some of it, taking on all of it would defeat the purpose.
That’s where the Nets come in.
Brooklyn could be the third team involved in a trade, taking on some extra salary to save the Celtics. In the process, however, Sean Marks will almost certainly make Boston pay up.
He will demand the Celtics cough up picks, probably second-rounders, depending on the deal, in exchange for taking on the money into their cap space.
[Most mock trades](https://hardwoodhoudini.com/boston-celtics-monster-three-team-trade-solve-all-problems-one-move-kristaps-porzingis-jrue-holiday-dallas-mavericks-brooklyn-nets-pj-washington-daniel-gafford) have the Nets involved, and based on the overwhelming amount of deals being thought up with that framework, it looks like Brooklyn is about to rob Boston of some picks this summer. (They’re literally about to get Boston Rob’d.)