Celtics Reportedly Willing To Trade Key Starters To Keep Derrick White

Tough decisions could very well be on the horizon for the Boston Celtics after the franchise made its record-setting $6.1 billion sale to new majority owner Bill Chisholm, which is still awaiting the NBA’s approval.

The Celtics have placed themselves in a financial pickle as their recent spending spree over the past two offseasons is slated to catch up to them. The league’s luxury tax demon will soon knock on Boston’s front door to boost the second-apron team’s projected payroll from $230 million to $500 million next season. Jayson Tatum’s record-large $315 million supermax — signed last offseason — will be the biggest domino to fall, thus triggering a conundrum for Chisholm and governor Wyc Grousbeck to navigate.

Consequently, this could force the franchise’s hand. The Celtics might need to consider shaving off some of their payroll through trades, and while Tatum and co-star Jaylen Brown are the widely recognized as untouchables, another name is said to have earned that label among Boston’s starters — and it’s not Kristaps Porzingis or Jrue Holiday.

“(Derrick) White would seemingly generate the most trade value of the three if he were to be made available after the playoffs, but his name wasn’t mentioned once to me in reporting out this story,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reported Friday.

Fischer continued: “Several league figures with knowledge of Boston’s thinking have remained adamant about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continuing to be the unquestioned on-court pillars of this franchise.”

Going the extra mile to retain White won’t be easy. The 30-year-old signed a four-year, $126 million contract extension last June, just before Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens also re-signed Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman. Everyone besides Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk was brought back for the title defense, which created a financial burden immensely strenuous for any owner to maintain.

Porzingis signed a two-year, $60 million contract immediately upon joining the Celtics two offseasons ago, and Holiday inked a four-year, $135 million deal before the playoffs officially commenced last season. Porzingis is set to earn $30.7 million in his expiring contract, while Holiday is still owed $103 million over the next three seasons before the 16-year veteran turns 38 years old.

Both Porzingis and Holiday established themselves as game-changing pieces. In the blink of an eye, Porzingis and Holiday settled themselves into head coach Joe Mazzulla’s starting lineup and bought into its team-first philosophy. Porzingis was arguably the most efficient offensive center and Holiday — in tandem with White — became one-half of the league’s most lethal two-way backcourt.

Porzingis even forced his return while dealing with a rare left ankle injury to appear in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and helped the Celtics capture their record-18th Larry O’Brien Trophy over the Dallas Mavericks. Then, it became surgery time, and Porzingis went under the knife to repair a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon suffered during Game 2 of the series.

It felt like a pipe dream to think that Grousbeck and Stevens would be able to keep their go-to five together for an extensive period. Now, the likelihood of breaking up the band appears to be the only solution. Hauser signed a $45 million contract that, due to the league’s luxury tax penalties, could cost the Celtics an additional $80 million next season.

That’s not sustainable, especially for an incoming first-time owner in Chisholm.

Stevens has already made clear that there’s just one thing he wants from Chisholm moving forward: Transparency.

“My only thing is just asking to be kept in the loop on everything I need to know from the standpoint of making decisions here and now and moving forward,” Stevens told reporters Wednesday in Phoenix, per CLNS Media. “As we get to spend more time with Bill, get to spend more time with Wyc and Bill, then we’ll have more clarity on how we are going to do things. But every indication is business as usual, and I’m really excited about that.”

Boston has nine games left to play in its regular season before it’s time to embark on the chase for Banner 19.