Celtics Rival Expected to “Check In” on Key Free Agent

After a busy week of roster moves, the Boston Celtics head into the NBA free agency with some additional flexibility. Brad Stevens’ decision to trade Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis has gotten the team under the second luxury tax apron.

Therefore, Boston can now aggregate salaries in trades to help re-tool the current roster. Yet, before the Celtics can begin planning more new additions, they must resolve the contract situations of Al Horford and Luke Kornet.

In what could be a blow to Boston, SNY’s Ian Begley is expecting the New York Knicks to “check in” on Horford in the coming weeks.

“I think the Knicks will take a look at the guard market for a bench player,” Begley said. “Also, ESPN reports that Celtics veteran Al Horford will have a robust market this offseason. I think the Knicks will also at least check in on Horford’s situation in Boston. The Celtics shed salary by trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and they certainly want Horford back, but are limited in what they can offer the veteran big man.”

Horford is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s free to discuss contractual terms with any team in the NBA. Of course, Celtics fans will hope he returns to the rotation for the 2025-26 campaign.

Celtics Unlikely to Trade Star Duo

In recent weeks, the notion of Boston potentially trading one of Jaylen Brown or Derrick White has been floating around in the media. During a recent news conference, Celtics Vice President of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren addressed that speculation head on.

“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players,” Zarren said. “There hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them. And so I’m not sure where all this reporting came from. But those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”

Outside of Jayson Tatum, no one on the Celtics roster is deemed untouchable. However, Brad Stevens would likely need a monster offer to consider parting with Brown or White. Both stars have proven to be integral to Joe Mazzulla’s roster. Furthermore, it’s highly unlikely that Boston would get fair value in return for either player.

Celtics Have a Strong Foundation

When speaking to the media on Wednesday, June 25, following the NBA Draft, Brad Stevens praised Boston’s current foundation.

“We’ve got the foundation,” Stevens said. “With Jaylen and Jayson and D-White and Payton and all those guys that a lot of teams love to have..As you look at the rest of the team and what we’re trying to do, there’s no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back.”

If the Celtics are fully focused on re-signing Horford and Kornet, they will likely move swiftly once the free agency market opens up. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t face competition from elsewhere in the NBA. Celtics fans will be hoping that Horford isn’t swayed by the chance to compete for a championship in New York next season.

After all, without Tatum, Boston is set to be outside of the NBA Finals picture for at least the next 12 months.