Two Celtics Players To Monitor As Potential Trade Chips

The Boston Celtics lost at least four key players in the offseason, which may have fans assuming that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is done subtracting for a little while.

That being said, if Stevens has a goal to get under the NBA’s luxury tax, he might be eyeing further moves before the trade deadline in February.

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey recently talked about this in a piece entitled, “1 Overreaction to Every NBA Team’s First Game of the 2025-26 Season”, in which Bailey also named the two Celtics players who would most likely be trade chips if Stevens did indeed proceed with further cost-cutting maneuvers.

Bailey also asserted that Stevens could be pushed in that direction if the Celtics aren’t as competitive as expected between now and the deadline.

“Despite a truly dreadful Joel Embiid performance … and the absence of Paul George, the Boston Celtics gave up a late, nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 117-116, on opening night,” Bailey wrote.

“And if they’re going to struggle to contain guards like they did on Wednesday … the temptation to shed even more salary is going to be strong,”

“Right now, Boston is within $12.1 million of ducking the luxury tax,” Bailey continued. “And if the Celtics are going to have a sub-.500 season, they might well chase it. That could mean players like Anfernee Simons and/or Sam Hauser could be on the move prior to February’s trade deadline.”

Simons is making $27.7 million this season on an expiring contract. Hauser is making $10 million this season during the first year of a four-year, $45 million extension he signed in July 2024.

One would think that Simons is the more likely player to be moved. Besides Simons representing a bigger chunk of cap space, his expiring deal could appeal to a contender as a rental situation during a title chase.

Hauser’s history in Boston — which includes having been part of the 2024 title team — makes keeping him a logical choice, although he would have more than a handful of suitors if Stevens floated him out into the market.