On the eve of free agency, the Utah Jazz agreed to a perplexing trade, sending Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Jusuf Nurkic.
The player Utah is parting with is better. Sexton's also slightly less expansive than Nurkic. Both players are on expiring contracts. The former is on the books for $19 million. The latter's deal is for $19.3 million. The money isn't worth getting hung up on. However, the Jazz, being the team that surrenders draft capital in this trade, is confounding.
But since this deal is happening, perhaps the Boston Celtics can take advantage.
Maybe Brad Stevens dials up his predecessor and the CEO of Jazz Basketball, Danny Ainge, or their president of basketball operations, Austin Ainge, and Boston latches onto this trade.
What could the Celtics accomplish by making this a 3-team deal?
Utah has a pair of recent first-round picks in the backcourt, Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier. The Jazz will also want this year's fifth-overall selection, forward Ace Bailey, to get significant touches. However, the chance to upgrade from Jordan Clarkson to Anfernee Simons might prove persuasive.
Their agreed-upon arrangement with the Hornets could morph into a three-team transaction. Utah would land Simons and Nurkic, addressing the front and backcourt.
Boston would receive Clarkson and DaQuan Jeffries. The latter is on a non-guaranteed contract, valued at $2.7 million for the 2025-26 campaign. His $3.1 million salary for the following season is also non-guaranteed.
Swapping Simons for Clarkson and Jeffries would trim $13.4 million off the Celtics' payroll.
The final piece of the puzzle is KJ Martin joining Sexton in going from the Jazz to the Hornets. The five-year veteran is on an expiring $8 million contract. He'd infuse athleticism and defensive tenacity into Charlotte's second unit.
However, given his salary, the Hornets would likely receive a second-round draft pick. That would probably come from Boston, who avoids absorbing Martin's contract.
Maybe this deal won't happen, but it's a reasonable proposal.
The Celtics' financial outlook if this trade comes to fruition
Shedding $13.4 million in salary moves Boston $17.6 million below the second apron and underneath the first by $5.7 million. The 18-time NBA champions would also be only $1.9 million above the luxury tax threshold. Staying below the latter for two consecutive seasons would allow them to reset the repeater tax.
At a minimum, this trade would position the Celtics to re-sign Luke Kornet or Al Horford. After the first round of this year's NBA Draft, Stevens labeled accomplishing that as a priority for the organization.
"There's no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back. Those guys are huge parts of this organization," stated Stevens. However, he also acknowledged, "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."
If Boston is successful in its effort to retain Horford or Kornet, even coupled with this three-team trade, the Celtics would be over the first apron.
Maybe there's a Georges Niang deal that helps keep them under that threshold even after filling out the roster. The current depth chart features 12 players. The league minimum is 14. So, after this series of moves, they would only have one spot to fill if they trade Niang without getting someone back.
Even if the franchise starts the season over the first apron, Clarkson's trade market could at least get them under that line before the league year concludes. Perhaps the Celtics find a deal that gets them below the luxury tax threshold.
The former Sixth Man of the Year is on an expiring $14.2 million pact. He could be a helpful rental for a playoff team. Plus, there's always the prospect of subsequently re-signing him.
While three-team trades are tricky, there's value in this proposal for each party. Perhaps the Ainges see enough of that for Utah to sign off on this. It's a move that could help Boston achieve its ambitions of keeping at least one of Horford or Kornet. The Celtics could also use this as a springboard to get under the first apron and maybe even the luxury tax threshold before the upcoming league year ends.