Following Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles tendon tear, the Boston Celtics are expected to make some roster changes this summer. Brad Stevens must try to get the franchise under the second luxury tax apron. As such, some fan favorites could be heading out the door.
According to a June 16 report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Al Horford could be one of the players. The veteran big man is an unrestricted free agent this summer and will be free to negotiate with any team in the NBA. Scotto has reported that multiple contending-level teams are monitoring the situation to see whether Horford would leave the Celtics.
“Predominantly, high-level playoff contenders are monitoring Horford to see if he’d leave Boston, with the Celtics expected to take a step back without Tatum next season and in a financial crunch regarding their salary books,” Scotto reported.
Horford has left the Celtics before. He joined the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer of 2019. However, Stevens brought him back to the franchise in 2021, and he played a key role in the team’s run to a championship last year.
While it’s unlikely that Horford will leave Boston, the idea cannot be ruled out. After all, Horford may want to continue contending for championships, and until Tatum is back in the rotation, that won’t be a possibility for the Celtics.
Celtics Likely Fielding Trade Calls on Star Players
During a June 11 episode of ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that contending teams around the league are “one hundred percent” making calls on the availability of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
“However, now are teams making big offers and calling about Jaylen Brown and Derrick White? One hundred percent,” Charania said. “The Celtics prefer not to trade them, from my understanding, but listen, if they get a big offer, they have to look at everything. And I think they’re going to get, you know, offers on the three guys that they’re focused on. They’re going to get offers potentially on Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. And I think between now and the draft and free agency, they’re going to evaluate what makes sense from a value perspective.”
Both Brown and White will have significant trade value. Moving on from either star would have to bring back a haul of assets for the Celtics. Still, the most likely players available for trade are Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hauser. Seeing one or two of that trio being moved this summer is far more logical.
Celtics Urged to Keep Hold of Porzingis
An anonymous NBA Front Office member, who spoke with Heavy on Sports’ Steve Bulpett believes the Celtics should avoid trading Porzingis.
“Unless they know something about Porzingis that we don’t, I don’t see how they can let him go,” The front office member said. “When Boston was right, he’s a major factor and they win. Yeah, he wasn’t a huge part of what they did in the playoffs last year. Because of the matchups, it didn’t hurt them that bad when he missed a bunch of games.”
They continued.
“But then you look and see, he scored well when he did play, and he was giving them a couple of blocks a game in limited minutes. He gives you something you can’t really guard. He opens up their offense, and he gives them so much at the rim on the other end of the floor.”
Porzingis has struggled with injuries during his time with the Celtics. He has notably been unavailable or far from his best in both postseason runs. Furthermore, he’s entering the final year of his contract. As such, it would make sense for the Celtics to maximize their return.
Otherwise, they would risk losing him for nothing next summer. Worryingly, the same problem could potentially happen with Horford in the coming weeks.
