The moved forward with their /Anfernee Simons swap earlier this week, completing the trade with Portland as a straight-up, one-for-one swap after exploring ways to expand the deal during the July moratorium. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Boston is committed to having Simons on its roster to open the season.
“I have talked to other teams who have said the Celtics are actively trying to trade Anfernee Simons,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Wednesday’s episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). “Whether they can or not (remains to be seen).”
Swapping out Holiday’s $32.4MM cap hit for Simons’ $27.7MM figure will help the Celtics operate below the second tax apron in 2025/26. However, as Windhorst and his ESPN colleagues Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps went on to speculate, the club may be looking to cut costs more significantly in what will essentially be a “gap year.” Getting out of the luxury tax entirely would be a step toward repeating the repeater tax clock.
A team operating above the cap but below the tax aprons would only have to send out about $19.2MM in matching salary to legally acquire Simons and his expiring contract.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
