The Boston Celtics are open for business this summer to save on salaries and luxury taxes in what is expected to be a gap year following Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury.
But there is a limit to it.
They traded away key starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to get out of the crippling second apron. They will hold on to their remaining assets and healthy stars Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, but it did not deter other teams from calling.
Getty The Boston Celtics have traded Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday while holding on to Derrick White.
Between the two stars, it was White who generated the most interest as he was perceived to be a more realistic trade target than Brown.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, there was a richer offer for White aside from the underwhelming Toronto Raptors offer that was reported before the NBA Draft.
“The Celtics received plenty of offers from teams for White, one of which involved two first-round picks and a swap, league sources said,” Siegel wrote on July 21.
But the Celtics have no interest in trading White unless they get a “Mikal Bridges-type” package, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported in June.
The New York Knicks notoriously traded for Bridges last offseason for five first-round picks, four of which are unprotected, and a pick swap.
Celtics ‘Laughed’ at Raptors Offer
Before the NBA Draft, the Raptors sniffed around White, according to The Ringer’s Zach Lowe.
“There were reports that the Raptors offered the No. 9 pick for Derrick White,” Lowe said on his podcast “The Zach Lowe Show” on June 26. “I’m told that’s true, but that it happened a month and a half ago after Jayson Tatum got hurt, and Boston laughed at that offer and said, ‘We need way more than No. 9 for Derrick White.’”
White, 30, averaged 16.4 points, 4.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and nearly a steal per game last season while shooting 38.4% from the 3-point line. He is expected to have a larger role in Boston next season with Tatum out.
White’s four-year, $126 million extension kicks in next season.
The Celtics acquired White in 2022 in exchange for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a first-round pick that turned out to be Blake Wesley.
Jaylen Brown on Spurs’ Radar
Meanwhile, Brown is one of the two NBA stars the San Antonio Spurs want to pair with Victor Wembanyama, Siegel earlier reported. Their Plan A is Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It is the reason they held on to their assets and did not participate in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, according to Siegel.
“Other than a potential trade for Giannis in the future, the Spurs have also monitored Jaylen Brown’s status with the Boston Celtics through the years, sources said. Now that the Boston Celtics are primed to take a step back and are looking to cut costs, the 28-year-old Finals MVP is suddenly worth talking about,” Siegel wrote on June 17.
Brown, the NBA Finals MVP during the Celtics’ championship run in 2024, will have to be the focal point of the offense sans Tatum.
The 28-year-old Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals this past season. He will enter the second year of his five-year, $304 million supermax deal.
But following the NBA Draft, Celtics vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren went on record to put an end to all the trade rumors involving White and Brown.
“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them,” Zarren told reporters on June 27. “I’m not sure where all this reporting came from, but those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”
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