The intricate web Danny Ainge and Gordon Hayward created a few years ago had a significant aspect closed Monday night when the Boston Celtics allowed a $17.1 million traded player exception to expire.
The $17.1 million TPE technically was rooted from last summer's sign-and-trade as Evan Fournier departed Boston and joined the New York Knicks. Fournier, however, previously was acquired using Hayward's historic $27.5 million TPE after his sign-and-trade with the Charlotte Hornets in 2020.
Celtics fans now have a somewhat clear (but perhaps still evolving?) overview of what the Hayward trade turned into. It's rather complicated, but there remains impactful remnants on the Boston roster a few years later.
As mentioned, the Hayward TPE became Fournier, which rolled into a $17 million Fournier TPE with Josh Richardson also acquired with money via the Hayward TPE. Richardson, who spent half of the 2022 campaign on the Celtics, then was traded along with Celtics draftee Romeo Langford to the San Antonio Spurs as Boston acquired Derrick White and his $16.4 million base salary.
White remains on the Celtics due to twisted roots back to Hayward.
On another somewhat related note, Hayward's departure from Boston allowed the Celtics to use their mid-level exception to sign Tristan Thompson in the hours after Hayward's sign-and-trade became official. Thompson's mid-level exception, upon later being traded to the Sacramento Kings, became the re-addition of Daniel Theis. Theis and Celtics draftee Aaron Nesmith were part of another crucial trade which brought Malcolm Brogdon to Boston earlier this month.
The Celtics' decision to let the Fournier TPE expire became the likely outcome after Boston acquired Brogdon in a trade with the Indiana Pacers. And for good reason.
Brogdon is a superior player than anyone the Celtics could have acquired via the Fournier TPE, and his $22 million base salary pushed Boston into the luxury tax already. Boston currently is projected to pay $45 million in luxury tax with their current roster and will be paying $3.25 in penalties for every additional dollar spent on the roster moving forward, as shared by MassLive's Brian Robb.
But Brogdon and White bolster the Celtics' depth, giving them one of the best bench units in the league. And the Hayward-turned-Fournier exceptions helped them get to Boston.
