The Boston Celtics’ plan for their big man rotation in 2025-26 is coming into focus.
Per Jay King of The Athletic, team president Brad Stevens had a refreshingly candid press conference Wednesday, following the club’s first round draft selection of Spanish forward Hugo González with the No. 28 pick.
First, Stevens addressed the elephant in the room: his decision to trade two starters from the Celtics’ 2024 championship-winning roster, in six-time All-Defensive team guard Jrue Holiday and one-time All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis.
The moves helped shave hundreds of millions of luxury tax penalty dollars off Boston’s payroll heading into 2025-26.
“We knew this was coming, right? This isn’t a huge surprise,” Stevens said. “We have to make sure we prioritize that flexibility.”
Holiday was shipped off to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for sharpshooting combo guard Anfernee Simons plus two second round draft picks. Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, the move yielded $40 million in anticipated luxury tax savings.
“We need to maximize assets in return, and we need to regain some flexibility here,” Stevens added. “And whatever that means from a final cost standpoint is what it means.”
The Celtics sent Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Boston brought back veteran stretch four Georges Niang and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2031 second round draft pick. With that trade, Boston dipped below the second luxury tax apron by $4.5 million, and ultimately will save a whopping $210 million in luxury tax obligations, per Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron.
Next, Stevens addressed how the team’s new flexibility will enable it to retain Horford and Kornet.
Horford, who turns 39 next month, ultimately was a more valuable rotation piece than Porzingis was for Boston over the last two playoffs, as health issues prevented Porzingis from even suiting up much. Even heading into his 19th season, Horford remains a valuable two-way player, with solid passing ability and a modern scoring repertoire. Kornet took a veteran’s minimum deal last year, which even then was a team-friendly discount, and seems to be in line for a raise this summer.
“But I think the biggest thing is, as you look at the rest of the team and what we’re trying to do, there is no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back,” Stevens said. “Those guys are huge parts of this organization. They’re going to have, I’m sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that’s well-deserved, but I think that would be a priority. At the same time, I don’t want to put pressure on them. It’s their call ultimately. But, yeah, we would love to have those guys back.”
MORE CELTICS: New Celtics guard Anfernee Simons demanded trade to East rival last year
