$300 Million Report Surfaces Immediately After Celtics-Jazz Trade

$300 Million Report Surfaces Immediately After Celtics-Jazz Trade originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Boston Celtics have only continued to cut costs this offseason. They saved tens of millions off their cap sheet when they traded Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons and then traded Kristaps Porzingis for Georges Niang. On Tuesday, they have further cut costs with their most recent trade.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Celtics have traded Niang to the Utah Jazz (where he played from 2018 to 2021) for RJ Luis Jr. (who is on a two-way contract), which helped them save even more money.

Boston wanted to get under the NBA's second tax apron because of the consequences of being above it for three straight years. They already accomplished that when they made their two trades earlier, along with waiving JD Davison. Trading Niang back to the Jazz further helps them with their cap savings.

However, their hopes of saving money go beyond getting under the NBA's second tax apron. Doing so also saves them plenty of cash on the luxury tax. ESPN's Bobby Marks revealed how much money Boston has saved after all the trades they've made.

Marks shared a graphic showing how much money the Celtics have shaved off their payroll. Their projected salary and luxury tax went from $540 million to $239 million, meaning they saved over $300 million this offseason. Their payroll was cut by more than half, as Marks also added the caption, "A summer of savings and reshaping their roster."

A summer of savings and reshaping their roster pic.twitter.com/I4CsYlSOXT

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 5, 2025

These trades will certainly affect how the Celtics fare this season. Boston planned to make trades to save money even before Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles, but his injury took the pressure off of Brad Stevens to build a competitive team while trying to save money.

With Tatum out indefinitely, Boston will likely take a gap year even though they still have several members of their championship core, including Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser. However, Holiday, Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and likely Al Horford are all off the roster.

The Celtics have added some new faces besides Simons (and there's no telling if he will be on the roster for long). That includes Josh Minott, Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, and Chris Boucher. While one or a few of those players could work out for Boston, they are a step down from who they've had over the last two seasons.

Boston seems well aware of what's ahead this season. If the plan were to be competitive, they would have kept Niang. Trading him signals that the Celtics know this season won't be nearly as good as what they have become accustomed to in the 2020s.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.