It’s no secret that the Boston Celtics have set their sights on shedding salary this summer. They’ve already made a pair of cost-cutting trades, sending Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks -- two deals that saved them a combined $27.2 million.
Though offloading Porzingis and Holiday temporarily brought Boston’s salary total below the second-apron line, they have since re-entered that threshold with the signings of Luka Garza and Josh Minnot.
At this point, it feels obvious that SOMETHING else has to happen this offseason for the Celtics, otherwise they’ll have let a pair of championship contributors walk for no reason. Fans and media members have speculated about what’s next for the team over the past several days. Is it trading Anfernee Simons, who they acquired for Holiday, Georges Niang, who they landed in the KP deal, or sharpshooting wing Sam Hauser?
Any of those moves would provide some extra financial relief and hopefully keep the Cs below the second apron for good. Of the bunch, Hauser feels like the most appealing trade option for contending teams.
The Nuggets make a lot of sense as a Sam Hauser destination if the Celtics trade him
Particularly, the Denver Nuggets make a ton of sense as a trade destination for the Wisconsin native. Denver has had an absolute banger of an offseason so far. They traded Michael Porter Jr.’s albatross of a contract to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson, landed Jonas Valanciunas in a swap for Dario Saric, and signed several strong role players to round out their roster alongside Nikola Jokic.
It’s clear that they’re all-in on this upcoming season with the bundle of moves they’ve made this summer. Not to mention that, as part of the Nets trade, Denver created a $16.8 million traded-player exception, which would allow them to effortlessly absorb Hauser’s $10.04 million salary for the 2025-26 campaign in a potential trade.
If the Celtics were to offload Hauser in a deal with the Nuggets, it’d likely look something like this.
Boston receives:
- Take your pick of Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, or Hunter Tyson
- 2031 Nuggets first-round pick
Denver receives:
- Sam Hauser (into $16.8 million TPE)
A shooter of Hauser’s caliber would be an incredible fit next to Jokic, who is one of the league’s best playmakers. Since entering the league, the 27-year-old has never made less than 41% of his attempts from the three-point line. He’s the definition of elite.
Meanwhile, Jokic is just that when it comes to setting up his teammates anywhere on the floor. He averaged the second-highest potential assists in the league last season with 16.5 per game, trailing only Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, who averaged 20.7.
Of course, trying to keep Hauser while trading one of Simons or Niang may be Boston’s ideal scenario. He was a great fit on the 2024 NBA Champion Celtics and is fully capable of contributing to winning again, once the Cs are ready to do so. It’s not as easy as it seems to find sharpshooters like Hauser, so ditching him to dump salary should be a last resort.