Ideally, the offseason for the Boston Celtics would unfold in a fairly neat sequence that would allow the team to make a significant roster upgrade without going over the NBA’s luxury tax. If team honcho Brad Stevens can walk that tightrope successfully, he can have a team that comes back much improved from last season while also getting some relief from its status as a “repeater”–a team that has been over the luxury tax in three of four years and thus faces stiffer penalties. Unfortunately for forward Sam Hauser, he is critical to that sequence.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, teams are not falling over themselves to make a deal for Hauser, who is coming off a year in which he averaged 9.2 points as a starter with Jayson Tatum out for much of the year. But he shot just 41.9% overall, with a 39.3% mark on 3-pointers. It was not a bad year for Hauser, but he did not have a breakthrough even with an increased role–9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists aren’t starter-caliber numbers.
Sam Hauser Did Not Have a Breakthrough Last Year
Teams around the NBA know it. The Celtics can use Hauser’s contract (three years, $35 million left) in combination with their own $27 million trade exception to absorb a salary another team wants to get rid of. Unless they send out Hauser’s salary, the Celtics are just about $12-13 million below the luxury-tax threshold, depending on how their options play out. Send out the $10.8 million Hauser is due for 2026-27, and the Celtics can absorb more than $22 million without going over the tax.
That’s Hauser’s main value–ballast to help a team move on from an unwanted salary. The Celtics can’t yet seem to drum up interest on a Hauser trade on his own merits, but as part of a financial deal, he makes sense.
“He’s a tough sell, you’d be struggling on that one,” one Eastern Conference executive said of Hauser. “He can shoot. But a lot of guys can shoot now. It’s just, what else can he do to help you win? If you trade for him, it’s the contract. You can tell your fans, ‘We got a shooter,’ but a deal for him, it is more of a way to save some cap and move on than it is about winning.”
Celtics Exploring Adding a Starter
The Celtics will offer cap relief and Hauser (they’re not expected to offer Derrick White, but could do so if Stevens gets very aggressive) for a starting-caliber player on the wing or, preferably, at center. Myles Turner of the Bucks has been mentioned, but is likely too expensive to keep Boston out of the tax. Nic Claxton is on the board, too, and an outside possibility is Wendell Carter Jr. of the Magic.
Another possibility to remember: Isaiah Stewart, who may have gone as far as he is going to go with the Pistons after having not made much of an impact in the playoffs this year. The Celtics were very interested in Stewart at the trade deadline three years ago.
The Celtics could probably land a better player by focusing on the wing and living with Neemias Queta and Luka Garza (plus whomever they draft, perhaps) at center. The Nuggets are very eager to move Cam Johnson or Christian Braun, and Boston could absorb either into the TPE with Hauser going out.
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