When the Boston Celtics acquired Georges Niang and Anfernee Simons this offseason in separate deals, fans and media immediately speculated whether either player would be sticking around for very long. Sure enough, Niang’s tenure with the Celtics lasted about a month, as the team traded him to Utah on Tuesday.
The trade — which will bring rookie RJ Luis Jr. to Boston — was part of a pair of Celtics moves on the day, with the other being the signing of Chris Boucher for one year at relatively short money ($3.3 million).
“It comes down to financials,” Celtics insider Chris Forsberg said on Arbella Early Edition. “I know that’s frustrating and I know people get upset about it. But if we’re just being honest about where this season is — and I will still die on this hill, I think they’re gonna be way more fun than people think, I think they’re gonna be way more competitive out of the gates. I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but I do think the most important thing is long-term, making sure this team is able to kick it back into championship mode when Jayson Tatum is healthy.”
🔊 Celtics Talk: Payton Pritchard on Celtics’ summer changes, NBA’s new heave rule and Kyrie wanting to swing on him | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
With Tatum most likely out for the entirety of next season as he recovers from his torn Achilles, the Celtics are now below the second apron and could still get under the first apron. Getting out of the NBA’s luxury tax entirely still remains possible, too.
“Might as well get the books right,” Forsberg added. “Might as well potentially get under that tax long-term. They’re about $12 million away now. There are pathways to get there at some point this season, and now all of a sudden you’re out of the repeater [tax], and all of a sudden you can spend bigger to build a new championship sort of nucleus around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown when it’s time to go.”
Forsberg said that with the way the second apron was designed, an offseason like this one — which saw the Celtics part ways with Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holliday, and now at least one of the returning players from those deals — was inevitable.
“I know the new ownership’s gonna get crushed coming into a year like this. This was going to happen regardless of who owned the Celtics,” Forsberg said. “Everyone understands the situation they’re going through. And whether it was Wyc [Grousbeck], whether it was Bill Chisholm, there was going to be cuts to this roster to set them up for the future.”
As for that roster, Forsberg said the team at least added an experienced player to their frontcourt in Boucher, something that’s sorely needed.
“This is the sort of guy Joe [Mazzulla] will like,” Forsberg said. “Plays hard, plays physical, stretches the floor. I’m not gonna tell you that he’s going to turn the trajectory of this team around. It’s gonna come down to what the returning guys do. But it is a guy who can at least fill some minutes at that frontcourt spot and be pretty valuable to you there.”
Read the full article here