Boston Celtics Roster, Salaries, Cap Space, Available Draft Picks and More

Originally posted July 16, updated February 7.

As NBA teams continue to get smarter about how they build their rosters and plan for the future, fans have only gotten hungrier for information about what team-building options are available to their favorite organizations. We don’t have direct access to Mike Zarren and Keith Smith has moved on to greener spreadsheets.

With that in mind, we’re partnering with SalarySwish to use their data to attempt to answer every single question you could possibly have about the Celtics’ financial situation (and other team-building considerations).

Below is our attempt at an updating, living and breathing document answering every query you could possibly have on that front, with updates and context as the team moves forward. So bookmark this page for all the latest changes as the team moves forward!

Now, onto the info...

Celtics Roster, Salaries, Draft Picks, Cap Space and More

Here is a table with all of the Celtics’ salary information, courtesy of our friends at SalarySwish:

Now, because that is a lot of data, let’s dive into a few key pieces of context and what it means, and try to answer any questions it may call up for you.

FAQ

Now, let’s answer some of your most frequently asked questions about the Celtics’ salary cap and draft pick situations moving forward.

What was the impact of the Celtics moves at the trade deadline?

The Celtics traded Jaden Springer and their 2030 second round pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for a heavily protected second round pick.

Springer was essentially traded to Houston as a salary dump to get his $4 million contract off of the books for Boston. The Celtics reduced their tax penalty by $15.4 million and opened an additional roster spot.

Boston then signed free agent forward Torrey Craig to a 1 year, $1,062,385 (carrying a cap hit of $791,818).

As a result of these moves, the Celtics will be paying $51M in luxury taxes.

What are the 2nd apron rules against trades?

As a 2nd apron team, the Celtics cannot send out two or more aggregated salaries together (so they can’t stack smaller salaries to bring back a more expensive player). They also can’t send out cash in a trade (some teams use this to incentivize the other team to take on more salary).

It gets worse too. Boston can only take back 100 percent or less of the salary that they send out in a deal. Typically non-tax paying teams have some wiggle room and can take back 125% (plus $250K) of outgoing salaries. The Celtics can’t go over by one cent.

What draft picks can the Celtics trade?

The Boston Celtics can currently trade their own first round picks in the following drafts:

• 2025
• 2026
• 2027

The San Antonio Spurs have the right to swap 1st round picks with the Celtics in the 2028 draft (as part of the Derrick White trade). The Celtics also owe a 2029 first round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Additionally, the Celtics can currently trade the following second-round draft picks:

• 2025 second round draft pick from Washington, Golden State, Dallas or Detroit
• 2026 second round draft pick from Minnesota, New York, New Orleans or Portland (most favorable)
• 2027 second round draft pick from Portland or New Orleans

Can the Celtics sign buy-out free agents?

The 2nd apron limits the Celtics here as well. Under the new rules, if a player makes more than the mid-level exception and gets an in-season buyout, the Celtics are ineligible to sign them. So for example, if Ben Simmons were released tomorrow, the Celtics wouldn’t be able to sign him (even if they wanted to).

How much salary cap space can the Celtics have this offseason?

There is no reasonable way for the Boston Celtics to generate room under the salary cap next summer. In fact, they are going to be over the salary cap, the 1st apron, and the 2nd apron. Championship-caliber teams can be very expensive, and keeping them together can be even more costly.

How much will the Celtics pay in luxury taxes this year?

As of right now, the Celtics are slated to pay over $51 million in luxury taxes, due to their payroll of approximately $192 million being nearly $22 million over the luxury tax limit.

Next year the number could be a lot higher. Right now Salary Swish projects their bill to be 0ver $220 million.

If you found this page useful, please bookmark it and/or share, and if you have any questions or information you’d like to see included, let us know in the comments below!