NBA Insider Names Three Celtics Who Still Could Get Traded During Season

The Boston Celtics roster is looking quite a bit different now than it did when their season ended two months ago at the hands of the Knicks.

Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet are all gone. Al Horford hasn’t resigned and it’s not a guarantee he’ll be back. And, of course, Jayson Tatum is out for next season.

This all is being done with the intention of getting under the second luxury tax apron — something they haven’t actually accomplished yet. The Ringer NBA reporter Michael Pina wrote in a piece published Monday that a salary-shedding move during the season could very much be in play.

“Boston is still in the second apron and about $20 million over the luxury tax, but, regardless of what Brad Stevens has said, it would be a true stunner if it didn’t shed more money during the season to dodge repeater tax penalties,” Pina wrote. “The likely casualties are Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang, but no one should be shocked if/when Sam Hauser gets traded.”

Simons and Niang are new additions this season, with the former arriving from Portland in the Holiday trade.

Simons and Hauser represent some of Boston’s better shooting options. Short of a stylistic change, the Celtics offensive approach lends itself to needing players like those two. Simons has been fairly consistently rumored to get flipped by the Celtics this offseason, but he was a solid get in a trade that was a salary dump that they might not want to move off.

However, Hauser has proven to be a key piece of the rotation off the bench for multiple years. Perhaps if one of the shooters takes a much clearer hold of a role during the season, it might make it easier to move off the other.

Niang is a physical forward who is a useful defender. He doesn’t tend to offer much on the offensive end, but teams he’s on historically have been good, and the Celtics are thin in the frontcourt.

Ultimately, how all three fit into the system this season will play a role in the cost effectiveness in moving one or multiple of them in the interest in shedding salary — even if it is at the expense of wins this season.