Less than a year after hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the Celtics find themselves at a crossroads.
Boston’s title defense ended in the second round of the 2025 playoffs as it fell to a scrappy New York team in six games. Looming larger than the series loss was the loss of Jayson Tatum, who underwent surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered at the end of Game 4.
Reality is hitting the Celtics quickly, as they now enter an offseason that could call for some tough decisions. The franchise is changing ownership, and its payroll is rising as it has made serious financial commitments to keep the championship core intact.
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This crossroads was inevitable, but the immediacy of the decisions is a product of Tatum’s injury. With their superstar potentially missing the entirety of the 2025-26 season, the Celtics may have to sacrifice in the interim to ensure they are in the best position to be a perennial contender upon Tatum’s return.
Here’s what faces Boston this offseason.
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What’s next for the Celtics?
Winning comes with a price, and for Boston, that price could be over half a billion dollars.
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Celtics’ cap allocations will exceed $260 million, per Spotrac. While that figure is not quite $500 million, it would place the team’s payroll over the anticipated Second Luxury Tax Apron by around $52 million, resulting in a tax bill north of $250 million.
When factoring in all figures, the Celtics roster, as constructed, would cost ownership north of $500 million in 2024, as outlined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. For that reason, Boston has long been anticipated to make some adjustments for financial flexibility.
Tatum’s absence complicates matters, but the franchise has another All-Star in Jaylen Brown, two all-league defenders in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, an elite stretch big in Kristaps Porzingis, and the Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard.
It is unclear just how many members of this year’s roster will be a part of next year’s run, as some key members could be salary cap casualties.
Joe Mazzulla is headed for his fourth season at the helm in Boston, but there are few guarantees outside of that fact. The situation itself provides several questions that will be unavoidable as the offseason gets underway.
MORE: Trades the Celtics must consider after Jayson Tatum’s injury
Celtics free agents
Boston has four free agents this season, three of whom are unrestricted. Looming largest is the free agency of Horford, who, despite being one of the league’s oldest players, has been one of the Celtics’ most important contributors since returning in 2021. Not far behind is Luke Kornet, who has developed into a solid rotational big man and may have played himself into a nice payday with averages of 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 2024-25.
- Al Horford (Unrestricted)
- Luke Kornet (Unrestricted)
- Torrey Craig (Unrestricted)
- Drew Peterson (Restricted)
Celtics’ future draft picks, explained
The Celtics are currently set to pick twice in the first 32 picks of the 2025 NBA Draft. It’s difficult to forecast what Boston will do with its picks, as president Brad Stevens has been one to move draft capital to gain leverage, either in the current draft or for the future. That both of the Celtics picks essentially grade out as first-rounders should work in their favor at the negotiating table.
- 2025: Own first-round pick (28th overall)
- 2025: Wizards’ second-round pick (32nd overall)
- 2026: Own first-round pick
- 2026: Second-round pick swap (Most favorable of MIN/NYK/NOP/POR)
- 2027: Own first-round pick
- 2030: Own first-round pick
- 2031: Own first-round pick
- 2031: Own second-round pick
- 2031: Rockets’ second-round pick
Celtics 2025-26 roster, contracts
As of now, Boston has 13 players under contract for the 2025-26 season, with each member of their standard starting five under contract for at least one more season.
The Celtics will have a very large payroll and can receive minor relief with partial guarantees in Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh’s contracts. Former G League standout J.D. Davison has a team option for the upcoming season.
| Player | Position | Salary | Age |
| Jayson Tatum | F | $54,126,450 | 26 |
| Jaylen Brown | F | $53,142,264 | 28 |
| Jrue Holiday | G | $32,400,000 | 35 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | F | $30,731,707 | 30 |
| Derrick White | G | $28,100,000 | 31 |
| Sam Hauser | F | $10,044,644 | 28 |
| Payton Pritchard | G | $7,232,143 | 28 |
| Baylor Scheierman | G | $2,619,000 | 25 |
| Xavier Tillman | C | $2,546,675 | 27 |
| Neemias Queta | C | $2,349,578 (Partial Guarantee) | 26 |
| J.D. Davison | G | $2,270,735 (Team Option) | 23 |
| Jordan Walsh | F | $2,221,677 (Partial Guarantee) | 20 |
| Miles Norris | F | Two-Way | 24 |
