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In: Bam Adebayo, Justin Champagnie
Out: Anfernee Simons, Hugo González, Boston’s 2026 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick (swap), 2031 first-round pick, 2031 second-round pick (less favorable of Cleveland’s and their own)
This deal diverges from the Celtics’ presumed attempts at entirely ducking the tax. That’s what happens when you’re contending for a home-court-advantage playoff spot during what’s supposed to be a gap year.
Adebayo is close to Nirvana for how Boston plays. It’d be nice if he were making more threes, but attempting nearly four per game high enough volume to preserve spacing and roll him out alongside one of the team’s shakier-shooting wings or even Neemias Queta.
The Celtics can also let Bam operate in his most natural offensive role: a hybrid second-third wheel who can torch defenses with his play-finishing. And this is even before Jayson Tatum returns from his Achilles injury. His role will be further streamlined with JT in the fold.
Bam’s defensive versatility remains next level. It will graduate to “Somehow Even Filthier” territory inside a rotation featuring Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and…Jordan Walsh. His rebounding seldom wows, but he won’t infringe upon Boston’s crashing strategy on offense and would probably become the team’s most reliable presence on the defensive glass.
Surrendering so much deadeye shooting with Simons and Hauser is cause for pause. The Celtics should be able to weather the storm with Brown, White and mid-range king Payton Pritchard, who’s hitting more of his triples since the turn of the calendar.
Whether the picks-plus-González outlay qualifies highway robbery in favor of the Celtics is debatable. I lean toward yes. Something unpredictable has happened if González becomes a star, and adding Bam should diminish the value of the firsts and first-round swaps that may already have limited appeal.
The financials could be a tougher sell to the C-Suite. Boston is adding $38.7 million to next-year’s books.
That eats up most of its room beneath the second apron, leaving them with less than $4 million to fill at least two roster spots. But it’d also have a projected top-eight rotation of Bam, Tatum, Brown, White, Pritchard, Champagnie, Queta and Walsh, with players like Josh Minnott, Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman to fill in the gaps—and make for a pretty wicked top-11.