Celtics roster is coming into focus, but things could change when free agency begins

Boston Globe

12 hours ago

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But with free agency set to open Monday at 6 p.m., plenty of retooling could still be imminent as the team assesses its short-term future without star forward Jayson Tatum, who likely will miss next season because of the he suffered last month.
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'I think the biggest thing is there clearly is a need to prioritize regaining our flexibility and maximizing, from an asset standpoint, what we can,' Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said Wednesday. 'But as far as whatever moves that those are a part of, they're all separate and hard and things that are going to be — you're just going to have to do your best to make sure you put yourself in the right positions.'
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The Celtics guaranteed salaries sit $4.5 million below the second apron line, not factoring in unrestricted free agents Al Horford and Luke Kornet. The Celtics are also $15 million above the luxury tax line.
Boston has paid luxury tax for the past three seasons, and when teams are above the tax line in three of four seasons they are hit with harsh penalties. A league source said the team could explore ways to dip below that threshold.
The source said that while the Celtics believe in Simons, a career 38.1 percent 3-point shooter who averaged 19.3 points per game for the Trail Blazers last season, they could shed his $27.7 million expiring contract in a subsequent trade.
But much could depend on the futures of Boston's two free agent big men. On Wednesday night, Stevens made his hopes clear.
'There is no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back,' Stevens said. 'Those guys are huge parts of this organization. They're going to have, I'm sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that's well deserved. But I think that would be a priority. At the same time, I don't want to put pressure on them. It's their call, ultimately. But, yeah, we would love to have those guys back.'
The Celtics have been able to negotiate with Horford and Kornet since last week. On Sunday, a league source said Horford was in the early stages of considering his path forward and was unlikely to decide immediately after free agency opens.
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It's unclear if the 39-year-old, who has been working out at the Celtics' practice facility in recent weeks, could be dissuaded by Tatum's injury that will almost certainly take the Celtics out of title contention next year.
After the Celtics were eliminated by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Horford mostly deflected questions about his future, saying he would discuss the situation with his family.
There is believed to be extensive interest around the league in Kornet, the 7-foot-1 center who thrived in a limited role last season. Kornet, 29, averaged 11.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes,
Kornet probably could have received more than that on the open market last year, but his loyalty to the Celtics, a team that took a chance on him when few others did, combined with the opportunity to pursue back-to-back championships, led him to re-sign. This year, though, his market figures to be considerably more robust, with teams such as the Clippers and Spurs reportedly having interest.
'You look at our roster right now today, we've got a lot of really good basketball players that have done a lot of good things in this league, and several of them have done a lot of good things here,' Stevens said. 'And so, we'll see how it all pans out and what it all looks like. I expect us to go out and compete and compete with all we've got to be the very best we can. And that will always be the case. We'll do our best to put the right group together, and, at the same time, regain some flexibility and maximize some assets in return.'
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Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at