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Brad Stevens isn’t ready yet to determine the Boston Celtics’ trade deadline direction. Before choosing a course of action, he wants to take more time to evaluate his team’s season.
Here at The Athletic, we don’t have to wait. Sam Vecenie’s initial 2025-26 NBA Trade Board published on Friday, and several of the players he mentioned were either on the Celtics currently or potential targets for the team. Let’s dive into it.
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Vecenie’s outgoing candidates: Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser
Why would the Celtics consider selling off a couple of rotation players from a team that currently sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and could welcome back Jayson Tatum at some point during the season? Money.
The Celtics remain about $12.1 million over the luxury-tax threshold. Diving under that mark wouldn’t just save new ownership nearly $40 million in tax payments. It would also begin the process of resetting the repeater tax. Stevens has said he has no mandate from the ownership group to escape the luxury tax, but the Celtics should consider that path if they can do it without hurting their team much.
For financial reasons, Simons, who is on a $27.7 million expiring contract, has been an obvious trade candidate since the Celtics agreed to acquire him in June. As much as they would miss his scoring and shot-making, they have other players to fill that role — and another great one in Tatum potentially returning later this season.
Stevens was complimentary of Simons’ approach earlier this week.
“I think he’s really trying,” Stevens said. “First of all, he’s a quiet guy, but just a super person. And so he’s really come in with a great mindset of, I’m going to help the team any way I can. And offensively, he knows he’s capable of going nuts on any given game, right? But then defensively, I’ve just been really impressed, like he’s picked up, he’s made it hard. I think he’s made great strides in the months he’s been here, on that end. And I’m a big fan. I like him a lot.”
Given the Celtics’ cap sheet, it’s still hard to see them paying up to keep an expensive bench player long term. If they don’t intend to re-sign him, they should be looking to see if his contract can be useful in a trade to either shed salary or acquire a different type of player — maybe another big man to fill their biggest roster hole.
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Hauser’s situation is a little different. On a manageable contract through 2028-29, he will make about $10 million this season. As much as he has helped Boston over recent years, it’s worth wondering if the emergence of younger wings like Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott and Hugo González has made him a bit more expendable. Still, the Celtics recognize it’s not easy to find elite shooters who have proven they can hold up defensively deep in the playoffs.
Vecenie’s incoming candidates: Anthony Davis, Ayo Dosunmu
Wooooo, boy. Davis would be a headline addition. But how feasible would such an acquisition be?
The 32-year-old Davis is set to make about $54.1 million this season. He has a player option for nearly $63 million in 2027-28. If he, Tatum and Jaylen Brown were all on the Celtics next season, they would make about $174 million between them. That would be more than 96 percent of the projected cap. Stevens would have minimal flexibility with the rest of his roster.
If the Celtics assembled that trio, they would certainly have plenty of top-shelf talent, plus a promising group of young players around them (depending on who would be left after a trade for Davis). But Tatum is still rehabbing from a torn Achilles tendon, and Davis has not been the most available star throughout his career. As enticing as it would be to add Davis, it would be a huge risk given his age and injury history. The Celtics have stated a goal of sustainable success. Placing such a big bet on a wobbly foundation would seem to go against that.
Still, Boston could use another big man. Neemias Queta has proven to be ready for his chance to start, but in most games, the team doesn’t use another center behind him. The Celtics have found a solution for their frontcourt problem by playing Josh Minott at the position, but, as successful as the small lineups have been, the lack of size has been an issue at times. An ideal trade deadline would probably involve the Celtics shedding enough salary to avoid the tax while also acquiring a starting-caliber big man. (If Ivica Zubac is available, offering Simons and significant draft capital for him would be an interesting start, though other pieces would be needed to complete such a trade.)
Dosunmu, on a $7.5 million expiring contract, would not necessarily be a blockbuster addition. Quietly, though, he has shown progress in Chicago, averaging 15.2 points per game on extremely efficient 64.8 percent true shooting. The Celtics could need another guard if they move Simons, but they will be mindful of the financial impact of any trade.