Now that the NBA Draft is over, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens can focus on free agency, which begins on June 30.
Even though the Celtics don’t really have the cap space to sign any new players, Stevens is focused on the extension-eligible players currently on Boston’s roster — Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Sam Hauser.
“We’d love to have these guys that are extension eligible around here as long as we can,” Stevens said, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “They’re great; they’re awesome, obviously. And as far as signing or adding to this year’s payroll, there’s really not much we can do. It’s going to be basically minimum level contracts or those levels. And even if we were to make a trade, we can’t take more in, right? That’s just the way the new rules work.”
After Jaylen Brown signed the historic five-year supermax extension last summer, Tatum can expect a similar deal in his next contract. Tatum is signed through the 2025-26 season with a cap hit north of $34.8 million for the 2024-25 season.
White is entering the final year of his four-year, $70 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2024-25 season. The fan-favorite averaged 15.2 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in the regular season and became even more lethal in the Celtics postseason run. With Jrue Holiday signed through the 2027-28 season, it’s most certainly a priority for Stevens to keep his championship-winning backcourt together.
The last of the trio is under contract for next season as a club option for just over $2 million. Hauser was a significant player for the Celtics off the bench in the regular season and the playoffs. He shot 44.6% from the field and 42.4% from beyond the arc in 79 regular season games for Boston. In the postseason, Hauser saw his minutes reduced but still averaged 5.4 points per game.
Even with the future of the trio unknown, the Celtics begin the 2024-25 season as the defending NBA champions with their entire core. The only difference is Kristaps Porzingis is expected to miss the beginning of the season following successful surgery to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon.
