NBA rumors: Celtics rivals think new ownership will break up core
Keeping the Celtics together won’t be cheap.
The Boston Celtics are currently in cruise control on the 2024-25 NBA season, sitting comfortably in second place in the Eastern Conference and hoping to ramp things up in preparation for the playoffs in two months. Boston is looking to defend its 2024 NBA championship, the first title the franchise had won since the 2008 season.
The Celtics boast arguably the most talented roster in the NBA top to bottom, so it should come as no surprise that it’s also its most expensive. With news coming in last offseason that the Celtics are now up for sale, there was some question as to whether or not the new ownership would be willing to spend the necessary money to keep the band fully together.
Now, there is some doubt afoot on that front, per Brian Robb of MassLive (via Alex Kirschenbaum of Sports Illustrated).
“Boston is currently on the hook for $513 million in combined salary and tax penalties for next season alone,” Robb reported. “Paying that type of bill would be record breaking for any owner in the NBA history so needless to say, there’s some skepticism across the league that the Celtics new boss will come in willing to foot that bill. Just how much the Celtics will need to trim is the bigger question.”
A tough hypothetical for the Celtics
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In this scenario, it’s unclear who would be the first of the Celtics’ major core that the front office would look to trade. Perhaps the most obvious candidate is big man Kristaps Porzingis, who has struggled to stay on the floor for large chunks of his Boston tenure and who missed the majority of the team’s dominant playoff run a season ago.
Still, it’s not all bad news for Boston, even if they do end up having to change some things.
“Trading away one big salary may not be enough with a deal that big,” Robb reported. “The good news for Boston is that pretty much all their contracts right now are good values outside of perhaps Jrue Holiday so they should be able to field a solid return in the event of cost cutting.”
In any case, the Celtics will now turn their attention to finishing the regular season out strong.
