The Boston Celtics are trying to figure out how they are going to navigate the world of being in the second apron. The new rules of the CBA have put some heavy restrictions on teams that stay in the second apron of the luxury tax.
Boston now has a new owner, Bill Chisholm. He is unlikely to stay want to keep this team together in the second apron, especially with Jayson Tatum set to miss most of next year with a torn Achilles.
That means that Brad Stevens has to figure out who to trade and who to keep next season. It's very unlikely that the team that suited up this year returns next year.
Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are two starters who could be moved this summer. Neither of them has lived up to their hefty contracts this season, especially Porzingis.
Those two starters are going to be guys that Stevens tries to move. There could be another forward on the roster that ends up being a cap casualty, and that is Sam Hauser.
Hauser has turned into a solid player off the bench. He is someone that the other team must locate because he can make a ton of threes in a hurry.
In order to shed salary, Hauser may have to be moved. The Celtics are so deep into the apron with no hope of contending for a title that they will be looking to make as many cap-friendly moves as they can.
Boston didn't have a very deep bench this season, but Hauser was certainly a player that they leaned on heavily. Next to Payton Pritchard, he was the second-most valuable member of the bench.
Stevens would certainly like to keep Hauser if he can. Moving big-ticket items such as Holiday and Porzingis might allow him to. Derrick White's name has been floated around trade rumors, too.
This past season, Hauser averaged 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game. He shot 45.1 percent from the field and a whopping 41.6 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
