The Boston Celtics need to start moving around some pieces after reeling in their big fish in free agency.
Gordon Hayward told the Celtics on Tuesday that he will be signing a four-year, $128 million max contract with them. In order to fit Hayward under the salary cap, Boston already renounced the rights to Kelly Olynyk and will be looking to shed some more contracts to create space.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne say Boston is shopping Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley.
Most had to see something like this coming.
Smart and Bradley are entering the final years of their contracts and could end up being let go, especially with Boston having selected Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown the past two drafts. They seem like logical trade candidates given their expiring contracts. Crowder is owed nearly $21 million over the next three seasons and could also be moved.
Boston is in an interesting place. They have lots of talented players thanks to their free agent signings of Hayward and Al Horford, plus solid role players such as the aforementioned trio. They also have Isaiah Thomas, whose contract ends after next season too. And now they have Brown, Tatum, as well as two future high draft picks where they’ll be adding more strong players. Thanks to all their assets, the Celtics are expected to pursue multiple trades, including one for Marc Gasol potentially.
