Celtics trade Jaden Springer and 2nd round pick to Rockets to save on tax bill

The Boston Celtics today attached their 2030 2nd round pick in order to dump 22 year old Jaden Springer and his modest contract. The Celtics were looking to shed payroll and have accomplished that a bit with this deal with the Rockets. Springer was considered a contract that Boston could potentially use before the deadline to match salaries with more of win now player.

The Celtics either didn't find a player they liked enough to trade for or preferred the open roster spot and luxury tax savings. Depite Springer's contract being only $4 million for the season, so less than $2 million was still owed, the Celtics will save $15 million on their luxury tax bill.

This was the reason Boston decided to cut Lonnie Walker and not fill their final roster spot heading into the season. With two super max contracts and addional big ticket players, the Celtics are hamstrung with filling out the bench unless they don't care anout paying a ton of tax.

If for example Jaylen Brown wasn't reclassified as a guard for the 2022-2023 season, he very like doesn't make All-NBA and then has to settle for a regular max contract instead of a supermax. Something like that would have helped the Celtics a ton and it's why Luka Doncic not being eligible for a supermax after being traded from Dalas makes that deal that much better for Los Angeles. While many fans root for their favorite players like Brown to make the most money possible, more savvy followers know that if you want a more competitive team you actually root for contracts to be fair, but not excessive.

Boston now has two roster spots open and will look to fill one most likely when buyout season commences. They will again balance the benefits of adding a player versus the negative of the added tax bill.


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