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Jayson Tatum's injury has put the Boston Celtics in a bind; as stacked as their roster remains even with Tatum out, it still is unlikely for them to be much of a threat in the championship picture when their best player is on the mend. And with the financial pressure of being in the second luxury tax apron mounting with each passing year, the Celtics may have to do something drastic to keep their title-contention window open even with Tatum out injured.
One potential route the Celtics can explore is a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo is reportedly open to exploring a potential trade from the Milwaukee Bucks now that their future outlook is looking very bleak in the aftermath of Damian Lillard's Achilles injury that could force him to never be the same caliber of player ever again.
However, the same stringent cap rules that are putting so much pressure on the Celtics' new ownership group are the same ones that will prevent them from trading for the Bucks star.
Here's why the Celtics cannot trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Being a contending team in the NBA comes at a steep cost. The Celtics decided to lock up their core five of Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis on expensive contracts, and with Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser being under contract as well, those seven players alone have Boston well over the second tax apron for next season. And that's with Al Horford and Game 5 hero Luke Kornet entering free agency.
With the Celtics crossing the second tax apron, this then prevents them from aggregating multiple salaries in a single trade or from acquiring more than 100 percent of the salary they're giving out in return. This essentially rules them out of the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, unless they find a way to trim their payroll down to at least the first tax apron.
That maneuver would require them to trade away two of White, Holiday, and Porzingis without having to take back any salary in return. That would simply deplete the Celtics' roster and make it impossible for them to contend for a title with or without Antetokounmpo.
The easiest way for the Celtics to trade for Antetokounmpo would be to trade Tatum away, for they will be making the identical amount of money next season. However, Tatum is ineligible to be traded next season anyway after signing a designated veteran contract extension, rendering it totally impossible for Boston to make any reasonable trade work.
Nonetheless, something has to give. Due to the punitive tax punishments, the Celtics ownership is looking at footing a player payroll bill of around $500 million, provided that they re-sign Horford and Kornet. With Tatum out for all of next season, it's getting more and more likely that some moves will be made with the goal of trimming payroll, especially if they fail to complete their series comeback against the New York Knicks.
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One of Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis may get traded
The Celtics front office will have some tough decisions to make this offseason. Unless their ownership decides to splurge and run it back next year despite not having Tatum, one of Holiday or Porzingis may have to say goodbye to Beantown.
Holiday, if anyone, appears to be the most expendable member of the Celtics' core even if just a few minutes of watching Boston play would illustrate how invaluable he is to the team. For starters, the Celtics have another talented guard on the roster making quite a team-friendly amount of money in reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, who could be ready for a larger role.
Moreover, with Horford continuing to age and Kornet being a free agent, there is much uncertainty regarding the Celtics' frontcourt, making Porzingis the more difficult player to replace. Porzingis has had a rough go on the injury front nearly his entire career, but if Boston were to trade him away, they will have to get a big man in return, since they'll have Xavier Tillman Sr. left as the only big on the roster if they don't.
Porzingis could also be more valuable to the Celtics since his contract will be expiring at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. Meanwhile, Holiday's contract will run until at least the 2026-27 season, and he even has a player option for the 2027-28 campaign worth $37.2 million, which he is unlikely to turn down at age 37.
Alas, Holiday's production is on the decline (he posted the worst numbers of his career since his rookie campaign), which will make it difficult for the Celtics to trade him away for much value, if any at all.
