With the Boston Celtics stuck in a precarious second apron situation along with their superstar forward in Jayson Tatum set to potentially miss the entire 2025-26 season with a torn Achilles, many have wondered if they will need to make moves to break up their core and save some cash. ESPN’s Bobby Marks believes they will.
Marks listed the Celtics as the top team on his 10 teams to watch this summer list. He cited the team’s projected $500 million payroll and how the team may want to dump salaries to avoid that big of a bill.
If Tatum were healthy, perhaps the cost would be worth it for another championship run. But fronting half-a-billion dollars for a team that – let’s face it – doesn’t stand much of a chance of coming out on top of an extremely competitive league is impractical.
Marks noted the Celtics are $23 million over the second apron. This both restricts the type of trades they can make and puts them at risk of having their 2033 first-round pick frozen – meaning it cannot be traded.
According to Marks, the easiest move would be unloading center Kristaps Prozingis and his $30.7 million salary on a team like the Brooklyn Nets. However, he does not see this as the most likely option.
Instead, Marks said, “Shedding salary will likely happen in multiple moves.”
The Celtics are currently slated to pay its five top players a combined $198.4 million. Tatum will make $54.1 million, while guards Jaylen Brown ($53.1 million), Jrue Holiday ($32.4 million) and Derrick White ($28.1 million) will draw considerable paydays along with Porzingis’ aforementioned $30.7 million salary.