A 3-Team Trade Idea That Would Save Celtics $230 Million, Cover Mavs' Kyrie Injury
The Boston Celtics had dreams of repeating, but Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury was a devastating finish to the season. The team's future is in question with the star player likely out for the season and a projected payroll of $532 million (including luxury taxes, pre-free agents Al Horford and Luke Kornet).
The time has come for Boston to shed salary. Per Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks are "expected to at least explore" a path to Celtics guard Jrue Holiday. Kyrie Irving will be out for at least the first few months of the season; Holiday is still one of the top defensive guards in the NBA.
But how can two high-payroll teams get to their goals? Enter the Brooklyn Nets, armed with more projected room than any other franchise. The following is a three-team trade idea to save Boston a ton of money while adding talent to stay competitive, give the Mavericks a dangerous roster once healthy and the Nets draft compensation plus help to reach the league's minimum team salary.
Full Trade Scenario
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Mavericks get:
- Jrue Holiday (from Celtics)
- $3 million trade exception (Olivier-Maxence Prosper)
Celtics get:
- Daniel Gafford (from Mavericks)
- PJ Washington (from Mavericks)
- Drew Timme (from Nets)
- $32.4 million trade exception (Holiday)
- $2.5 million trade exception (Xavier Tillman Sr.)
- $2.4 million trade exception (Neemias Queta)
- $2.2 million trade exception (Porziņģis)
Nets get:
- Kristaps Porziņģis (from Celtics)
- Dwight Powell (from Mavericks)
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper (from Mavericks)
- Xavier Tillman Sr. (from Celtics)
- Neemias Queta (from Celtics)
- 2026 protected first-round pick (from Celtics)
- 2027 first-round pick swap (from Celtics)
Notes: The trade would wait to be executed on July 6, after the NBA's annual moratorium. The Mavericks trigger a second-apron hard cap (projected at $207.8 million) by aggregating players to acquire Holiday.
The 2026 first from Boston has top-four protection, otherwise it conveys as the highest second-rounder Boston has available (from various teams including the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves).
The Nets have a New York first but have already swapped their own 2027 first-round pick with the Houston Rockets. Boston would get the lowest available pick from the Nets in return for its own selection.
The assumption is Powell opts into his final year at $4 million with the Mavericks before July.
Why the Dallas Mavericks Do It
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The Mavericks are incentivized to push their chips in further after sending Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Davis and Irving struggled to stay healthy; unfortunately, Irving's status won't be clear until January (and he possibly won't be back to himself until closer to the end of the regular season).
Davis' contract runs for three more seasons, and Irving may opt out of his $43 million salary to re-sign a new three-year deal in the $112 million range (pencil him in for 2025-26 at $34.5 million, gaining long-term security while giving Dallas some additional immediate flexibility).
Holiday is a capable starting point guard. He's not as dynamic as Irving offensively, but he is among the best defenders of his generation. Holiday is also one of the most respected people in the league (winning both the NBA's sportsman and teammate of the year awards this season).
Once Irving is back healthy and starting, Holiday can move to shooting guard or a sixth-man role. Gafford, Washington and Prosper are luxuries for the Mavericks after they landed the No. 1 overall pick, presumably Cooper Flagg.
Although Davis will get significant minutes at center, spelling starter Dereck Lively II, Dallas can use its taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.7 million) to add a free-agent veteran center, perhaps Clint Capela, if the Atlanta Hawks choose to go in a different direction. Dallas can round out its roster with three minimum players while staying just below the second apron.
A healthy rotation with Klay Thompson, Max Christie, Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin, Jaden Hardy, Brandon Williams, Irving, Davis, Lively, Flagg, Holiday and a TMLE signing could be a force in the Western Conference.
Why the Boston Celtics Do It
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Even if the Celtics had won a second straight title, the front office would need to sell new ownership hard on keeping the roster together for a third try. The NBA's 2023 collective bargaining agreement includes a tax hike starting this year for heavy spenders and a doubling of the repeater tax rate.
Before considering Al Horford and Luke Kornet, Boston projects to have a payroll of $231.5 million and $270.6 million in repeater taxes. That's excessive before even considering that the Celtics will be without their All-NBA first-team All-Star in Tatum (presumably) for the entire season.
Assuming Boston is committed to resuming the Jaylen Brown/Tatum pairing in 2026-27, the only move to reduce salary is by getting out of the next two most expensive players in Holiday and Porziņģis.
Gafford doesn't have the same offensive arsenal as Porziņģis, but he's a productive and capable center (be it as a starter or reserve). Washington can't replace Tatum's offensive production, but he may be the best available veteran forward to fill in immediately. Both have NBA Finals experience with the Mavericks. Both are extension-eligible, should they fit into the team's long-term plans.
The heart of the question for Boston is how much it is willing to give up in player and draft compensation in the name of finances. Even without Tatum, the franchise should be at worst a 5-8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The first-round picks are immediate (over the next two years) and unlikely to cause irreparable harm long-term.
While Queta and Tillman showed promise throughout the year, the Celtics need roster space to retain Horford and Kornet. Pencil in $10 million for the pair in total (negotiable and optional, but not unreasonable given how few teams have spending power this summer), and the Celtics could get under the second apron.
Post-trade (and with Horford/Kornet at $10 million), Boston would have 15 players at $205.1 million with a $63.2 million tax bill. That's a $268.3 million total for a still-competitive squad while saving a stunning $233.8 million.
Why the Brooklyn Nets Do It
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The Celtics might argue that giving up a player of Porziņģis's stature shouldn't cost their franchise draft compensation. Still, the Nets are uniquely positioned as the only team with real cap room in July. How hard can they leverage Boston's financial distress to their own gain?
The Nets didn't jump to No. 1 to land Flagg, instead falling back from the sixth position in the lottery to the No. 8 pick. Brooklyn has arguably too many picks (Nos. 8, 19, 26, 27 and 36) and no franchise player to build around. Having a near monopoly on cap space (a range of $50-$80 million) only goes so far when there are few worthy targets in free agency.
The Nets could build aggressively, but the more prudent path is patience and flexibility. The best young players (Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Santi Aldama) are restricted. Under Sean Marks' leadership, the Nets have a history of giving out offer sheets, but the prudent path forward may be holding, losing many games and trying the 2026 lottery while adding additional draft compensation through trade.
Brooklyn also has to reach the "floor" before the start of the season. The league's minimum team salary for 2025-26 projects to be $139.2 million. Getting to that number may not be as easy as it looks when free agents typically seek multiyear deals. The Celtics' offer does no long-term damage with all incoming salary potential expiring.
The Nets get looks at Prosper, Queta and Tillman, the draft compensation and most of the salary needed to get to the floor. Brooklyn would still have about $12.7 million in cap room, assuming Ziaire Williams is retained at a salary equal to his qualifying offer ($8.7 million). Cam Thomas hits the cap at $12.1 million as a restricted free agent, but can re-sign for more after the Nets use their remaining flexibility.
Roster space would be an issue, but Brooklyn would be in a strong position to execute additional trades, possibly with veterans like Cam Johnson and Nicolas Claxton, or deals flipping the contracts of Porziņģis, Powell, Tillman, etc., should other opportunities arise in the trade market.
At worst, the Nets would just waive Powell, Tillman or others. Porziņģis could be a buyout candidate or even a player Brooklyn retains long-term. Brooklyn can also use its $8.8 million room mid-level exception to sign or acquire additional talent in trade.
The Mavericks and Celtics improve in the short term; the Nets invest further in a rebuild. The three-team trade could be a win-win-win solution.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
