The Boston Celtics are facing a near $500 million salary bill next season, a significant portion of which, will be due to luxury taxes. As such, there’s a chance Brad Stevens looks for ways to cut some of the Celtics’ expenses during the summer.
Of course, Boston’s championship window is wide open. Any move Stevens makes must be centered around keeping the team competitive while alleviating some of the financial and basketball constraints that come with the second apron. Interestingly, the Celtics could look to ease their current payroll by trading for another star.
According to Nick Wright of Fox Sports, the Celtics could look to acquire Kevin Durant during the summer. Durant is widely expected to leave the Phoenix Suns ahead of next season.
“Two totally unrelated people, both of whom have a reputations for knowing things other people don’t know, have said to me, watch out for Durant in Boston,” Wright said. “I don’t know the pieces that would make it work. And it feels a lot like what Durant got killed for with Golden State. It doesn’t make sense.”
Durant is a superstar. He would undoubtedly improve the Celtics roster. His presence could provide a boost to Joe Mazzulla’s rotation over the next one or two years. However, his age and his $194 million contract are both offputting factors.
How The Celtics Could Make the Money Work
As a second apron team, the Celtics are unable to aggregate salaries in a trade. Any more has to be one-for-one. However, the loophole here is that Boston, or any other second apron team, can aggregate salaries if the result of the trade sees them duck under the second apron.
The easiest option for Boston would be to trade Jaylen Brown in a straight swap. Durant would then partner Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis as part of a big three. However, Brown is considerably younger than Durant, so this move would drastically reduce the team’s championship window.
The other option would be to make a trade that gets Boston’s under the second apron before pursuing Durant. That would mean trading away someone like Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, or Porzingis while taking back limited assets in return (or attaching them to the outgoing player).
By doing this, the Celtics would no longer be a second-apron team, so they could aggregate salaries in a package to bring Durant to the TD Garden.
Why The Celtics Are Unlikely to Pursue Durant
Since Stevens took over as Boston’s president of Basketball Operations, the Celtics have focused on roster continuity. A move for Durant would strip the very foundation of Boston’s championship team. You’re either losing an elite secondary star in Brown or potentially multiple high-level role players and starters.
Durant is 36. He will turn 37 next season. No intelligent franchise would shake the entire foundations of its championship-caliber team to acquire an aging star on a massive contract. Durant is the guy you add as the missing piece, not the guy you shatter the whole jigsaw for. Well, not at this point in his career, anyway.
So, while the idea of Durant in Boston is an exciting one, the logistics involved in making it happen mean that it’s highly unlikely to occur. And if it does, then the Celtics roster is going to look drastically different by the time the 2025-26 season gets underway.
