NBA free agency has arrived but the complexion of the Celtics roster looks a lot different already compared to last week following two trades being agreed upon over the weekend. For now, Josh Richardson is a Celtic and Kris Dunn and Bruno Fernando are also new additions (for now) in a second deal that’s not yet official which sent Tristan Thompson to Sacramento. What do those moves and other market developments across the NBA do to impact Boston’s options heading into NBA free agency week? Let’s break down an overview of where the team stands.
Under contract for 2021-22
Jayson Tatum: $28.1 million
Al Horford: $27 million
Jaylen Brown: $26.8 million
Marcus Smart: $14.3 million
Josh Richardson: $11.6 million
Kris Dunn: $5 million
Romeo Langford: $3.8 million
Rob Williams: $3.6 million
Aaron Nesmith: $3.6 million
Grant Williams: $2.6 million
Jabari Parker: $2.3 million (non-guaranteed)
Payton Pritchard: $2.1 million
Carsen Edwards: $1.7 million
Bruno Fernando: $1.7 million
Total: $133 million estimated committed to 14 players including dead cap hits
2021-22 NBA Estimates:
Projected Salary cap: $112.4 million
Projected Luxury tax: $136.6 million
Projected Apron: $143 million
2021 Celtics free agents
Evan Fournier (unrestricted with Bird Rights): The Frenchman is now a big question mark to return to Boston after the Celtics traded for Richardson last week, giving Brad Stevens a viable backup plan on the wing if Fournier walks. Fourner is expected to have several suitors on the unrestricted market including New York and San Antonio, who can sign him outright with their cap room. However, the door is still open for Fournier to return to Boston if his potential suitors ultimately target and land bigger fish with their cap room. This will be the first big domino to fall in free agency for Stevens but it’s evident the team is not willing to commit long-term money to him above a certain price point by putting some backup plans in place.
Semi Ojeleye (unrestricted with Bird Rights): There’s been no news yet on his interest from Boston or elsewhere. Ojeleye will be fighting for a roster spot in wherever his new home is and probably will need to settle for a veteran’s minimum deal wherever he does sign.
Luke Kornet (unrestricted with early Bird Rights): Same situation as Ojeleye. He will have to wait for the market to shake out before signing on somewhere for a veteran’s minimum deal. It’s doubtful there will be room for him on Boston’s roster unless more trades are made involving bigs.
Two-way players
The Celtics passed on giving qualifying offers to Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters per a league source over the weekend, making both two-way players unrestricted free agents this offseason. Boston has already agreed to terms with undrafted forward Sam Hauser on a two-way contract last week so there will be only room for one more two-way player on Boston’s roster next year. Waters is not expected to be back while the Celtics are expected to explore other options with their second two-way spot, leaving the potential for Fall return depending on other moves the C’s make in free agency.
Traded player exceptions
$5 million (Daniel Theis trade)
$6.8 million (Kemba Walker trade)
$9.7 million (Tristan Thompson trade?) — This is not official yet.
Free agent options
Currently, the Celtics are likely to only use taxpayer midlevel exception ($5.9 million) or veteran’s minimum contracts in free agency in order to avoid being hard capped ($143 million). However, if the Celtics manage to clear out more salary in a separate trade or two this week or an expanded Kris Dunn trade and let Evan Fournier walk, the door would open for the team to use a full mid-level exception ($9.5 million) on a more higher-profile free agent or multiple players.
The Celtics have been linked to several former Spurs already (Patty Mills, Rudy Gay) as potential mid-level targets while the Boston Globe reported on Sunday that other former Celtics like Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk could be on Boston’s radar as well. However, all of those players are expanded to command more than veteran’s minimum deals so odds are Boston will only be able to land one in free agency.
For that reason, any other big changes to the roster would likely come via trades in the upcoming week. The Celtics might try to consolidate some youth on the back end of the roster and still have a pair of trade exceptions they can use to help facilitate different deals. A bigger trade for Lonzo Ball is unlikely but also remains on the radar. Look for Brad Stevens to be very busy on all of these fronts in the opening days of free agency as Boston’s front office attempts to retool this roster for new head coach Ime Udoka.
