2026-27 Celtics Off Season Discussion

[Roy H.]

Back to digging into the tax and aprons.  I have been assuming all along that the Celtics would for sure stay under the tax for 2026-27.  But I wonder if that is true.  The repeater tax penalties are killer if you have a high tax bill, but that are not as bad if you have a low tax bill.

The issue is that this is the last year we'll presumably be able to dodge the tax without losing current players.  Going forward there will be extensions, etc.

In the next 2 to 4 years, we presumably *will* be paying those high-end tax bills.  Reducing them as much as possible is in the team's best interest. 

Brad should be able to put together a quality team and still stay under the tax, particularly if he trades Hauser and/or our #1.

Won't the tax line continue to increase by 8% to 10% per year?  So $201M in 2026-27, $219M in 2027-28, $239M in 2028-29, and so on.  The aprons go up accordingly as well.  I don't see why BOS wouldn't be able to live between the tax in the first apron going forward, even with contract extensions.  And even if you do get out of the repeater, it would only last for 2 seasons and you would be right back in it by the 3rd season.

They may well be able to pull it off and stay under the tax and not have it make that much difference to the quality of the roster.

8% jumps don't accountt for guys due big raises, like Queta and Pritchard.

And, it gets us out of the repeater tax for several years, as teams only pay it after the 4th out of five seasons over the tax line.

[Birdman]

They need a center who can score & post up down low.

[Roy H.]

They need a center who can score & post up down low.

We had one but used him as a spot-up shooter.

I don't think Joe has any interest in running any inside-out offense.  Even with KP, the large majority of his time was on the perimeter.  We utilized his post skills some, but not as much as his efficiency there suggested we should have.

[Vermont Green]

What does the team need?  Start with what they don't need.  Tatum, Brown, and White have swing (SF/PF hybrid), wing, and guard covered.  Pretty much everything else could be considered a need to some extent.  If the bench was Pritchard, Hauser, and Queta, plus some mix of Walsh, Scheierman, Gonzalez, and so on, I would say the bench is solid also.  I could see Vucevic as a very solid bench player also.  But who are the other two starters?

I see the ideal 4th and 5th starters as a ball handling guard and a center (fairly obvious, most everyone is saying the same thing to some extent).  Pritchard could be the starting guard, but he seems best suited as 6th man.  Queta could start (again) but you would ideally like a little more offense out of your starting center.  Problem I see is that I don't think both of these holes can be filled and stay under the tax.

That is why I see the path as sign a good solid starting guard via FA. There are some options out there.  I like CJ McCollum but others have said he is likely staying in ATL.  We are talking about a 4th starter level guard (McCollum is probably better than a 4th starter).  If you do that, there is probably not enough money left for a starting center and there aren't any great options at center anyway.

[slightly biased bias fan]

I am curious if the Celtics could pull off a trade for Ajay Mitchell. He will want a significant pay rise next season and Oklahoma will not be able to afford his cap hit.

There has been lots of speculation that Jalen Williams will be the one that the Thunder moves for cap relief, but for me he is too vital for their team. Williams is the only two way wing they have, whereas Mitchell can be replaced with a combination of Isaiah Joe, Jared McCain, Cason Wallace and Nikola Topic.

[Jiri Welsch]

What does the team need?  Start with what they don't need.  Tatum, Brown, and White have swing (SF/PF hybrid), wing, and guard covered.  Pretty much everything else could be considered a need to some extent.  If the bench was Pritchard, Hauser, and Queta, plus some mix of Walsh, Scheierman, Gonzalez, and so on, I would say the bench is solid also.  I could see Vucevic as a very solid bench player also.  But who are the other two starters?

I see the ideal 4th and 5th starters as a ball handling guard and a center (fairly obvious, most everyone is saying the same thing to some extent).  Pritchard could be the starting guard, but he seems best suited as 6th man.  Queta could start (again) but you would ideally like a little more offense out of your starting center.  Problem I see is that I don't think both of these holes can be filled and stay under the tax.

That is why I see the path as sign a good solid starting guard via FA. There are some options out there.  I like CJ McCollum but others have said he is likely staying in ATL.  We are talking about a 4th starter level guard (McCollum is probably better than a 4th starter).  If you do that, there is probably not enough money left for a starting center and there aren't any great options at center anyway.

I see it similarly. Don't think Vucevic is a viable option though. So next year without going over the cap, they could shoot for:

-A solid two-way guard (poor man's Jrue)
-A solid big man who offers a skillset different from Queta (poor man's Al/KP)

I think a combination of FA signing and trading Hauser + picks could net them those two.

[Vermont Green]

Current Situation

This is the current roster contracts including an assumption that the 2026 first round pick is used and signed.  Red contracts are club option.  Deadline for options is June 29, 2026.  I am assuming $2.3M for 1st round pick salary.

White        Pritchard         Shugla
Hauser      Scheierman     Banton
Brown       Gonzalez         Harper
Tatum       Walsh             Williams
Queta       Garza             2026 First

Total Salary         $190,030,180
Tax Room              $10,969,820
1st Apron Room     $18,969,820
Roster                                15

Base Scenario

For the base scenario, I am assuming that the club options for Shugla and Banton are not picked up, opening up 2 roster spots and reducing the baseline team salary.  This is a guess but seems like the reasonable result.  Queta and Walsh almost certainly stick, and I think Harper and Williams have end of roster roles.

White        Pritchard         Shugla
Hauser      Scheierman     Banton
Brown       Gonzalez         Harper
Tatum       Walsh             Williams
Queta       Garza             2026 First

Total Salary         $185,077,917
Tax Room              $15,922,083
1st Apron Room     $23,922,083
Roster                                13

This scenario would give the team about $15M to sign 1 FA if the plan is to stay at 14 roster spots to start the season, like they have done the past couple of seasons.  In this scenario, a big is probably targeted.  There are not that many FA big options.  Vucevic is nearly as good as any of the available center FAs.  This may end up with Vucevic signing for the BAE ($5.5M) or part of the MLE ($15M).  Not a great outcome in my mind.

Trade Hauser Scenario

White        Pritchard         Shugla
Hauser      Scheierman     Banton
Brown       Gonzalez         Harper
Tatum       Walsh             Williams
Queta       Garza             2026 First

Total Salary         $171,929,702
Tax Room              $29,070,298
1st Apron Room     $37,070,298
Roster                                11

For this scenario, I am assuming that BOS trades both Hauser and the first round pick for a player or players.  BOS can take back a player up to $27.7, I believe, due to the Simons TPE.  But assuming they want to stay under the tax, it is not likely they spend that much on the one roster spot with 2 others requiring filling.  But BOS could use the mechanism to take back a player with a salary of say $20M, leaving them about $9M for the remaining 2 required roster spots.   This could also be a sign and trade, say for CJ McCollum, sign for $20M, then trade (not sure ATL would do this but as an example).

Then, after the Hauser + Pick trade, BOS would have say $9M to $14M to spend on FAs for the last 2 roster spots.  Between the MLE and the BAE, BOS could spend as much as $20M on FAs in this scenario, but then less on the trade.

[Roy H.]

I am assuming $2.3M for 1st round pick salary.

120% of rookie scale is $3,081,360, which pretty much all first rounders get.

 

[jambr380]

I saw this from Bill Simmons. Not sure if this has any legitimacy at all coming from him, but it's an interesting thought. He makes less than half what Jaylen makes, so if we did move Jaylen in a different deal, he would be an interesting addition. 3 years left on the contract, too.

[Simmons] Celtics and potentially OKC are landing spots for Trey Murphy III

Full quote: ?We assume he?s probably going to get traded over the next three weeks. I think Boston is a possibility. We thought whoever lost this matchup (Spurs and Thunder) is a possibility. You have two to three weeks to trade for someone like that.?

[Vermont Green]

I saw this from Bill Simmons. Not sure if this has any legitimacy at all coming from him, but it's an interesting thought. He makes less than half what Jaylen makes, so if we did move Jaylen in a different deal, he would be an interesting addition. 3 years left on the contract, too.

[Simmons] Celtics and potentially OKC are landing spots for Trey Murphy III

Full quote: "We assume he's probably going to get traded over the next three weeks. I think Boston is a possibility. We thought whoever lost this matchup (Spurs and Thunder) is a possibility. You have two to three weeks to trade for someone like that."

BOS has a $27.7M TPE and if they trade Hauser, about $39M under the first apron.  So Hauser + pick (or picks) would work I believe (Murphy makes exactly $27M in 2026-27).  But if BOS did this trade, they would almost certainly go over the tax unless they also traded Pritchard or something like that.

Also, why is NOP looking to trade him?

[Vermont Green]

I saw this from Bill Simmons. Not sure if this has any legitimacy at all coming from him, but it's an interesting thought. He makes less than half what Jaylen makes, so if we did move Jaylen in a different deal, he would be an interesting addition. 3 years left on the contract, too.

[Simmons] Celtics and potentially OKC are landing spots for Trey Murphy III

Full quote: "We assume he's probably going to get traded over the next three weeks. I think Boston is a possibility. We thought whoever lost this matchup (Spurs and Thunder) is a possibility. You have two to three weeks to trade for someone like that."

I missed this part in my first reply.  I guess the idea is that BOS does a trade with Brown, say for Giannis, and then maybe offers something like:

Hauser, Gonzalez, 2026 1st
for
Trey Murphy

Guard (TBD)
White
Murphy
Tatum
Giannis

Pritchard, Walsh, Queta, Scheierman, Garza, and so on as the bench.

I could see that.

[Goldstar88]

I saw this from Bill Simmons. Not sure if this has any legitimacy at all coming from him, but it's an interesting thought. He makes less than half what Jaylen makes, so if we did move Jaylen in a different deal, he would be an interesting addition. 3 years left on the contract, too.

[Simmons] Celtics and potentially OKC are landing spots for Trey Murphy III

Full quote: "We assume he's probably going to get traded over the next three weeks. I think Boston is a possibility. We thought whoever lost this matchup (Spurs and Thunder) is a possibility. You have two to three weeks to trade for someone like that."

I missed this part in my first reply.  I guess the idea is that BOS does a trade with Brown, say for Giannis, and then maybe offers something like:

Hauser, Gonzalez, 2026 1st
for
Trey Murphy

Guard (TBD)
White
Murphy
Tatum
Giannis

Pritchard, Walsh, Queta, Scheierman, Garza, and so on as the bench.

I could see that.

Pelicans would never do that. Murphy is arguably their best player. He averaged 22pts/6rebs/4ast on 47/38/89 shooting splits.