The Celtics have a lot of business to attend to this summer and big decisions to make, largely revolving around the future of Jaylen Brown and his future. But whether they are going to make a blockbuster trade or not, they need to figure out what direction they want to take with their center position and how Neemias Queta factors into the situation.
Queta broke out this season, emerging as a solid starting center in Boston. It was his first time being in an NBA rotation consistently, and he delivered incredible value on his minimum contract, starting 75 games, averaging over 10 and 8, and emerging as an elite defensive anchor and offensive rebounder.
But now, it’s decision time for Boston. Queta has a $2.7 million team option for next season, which is objectively a great value. But that would run the risk of Queta hitting free agency, leaving next season for more money.
They could decline the option and extend him to a longer deal, but that would make it harder for them to stay under the luxury tax.Â
Celtics can keep Queta and stay under luxury tax
The Celtics would benefit from staying under the tax and resetting the repeater tax, but we don’t know if that’s the team’s intent. What they do with Neemy should be informative of their plans. If they do want to stay under the tax, the best move for all parties would be to pick up the option and agree to an extension that starts in the 2027-28 season.
Hopefully, Queta is happy to take that deal and appreciates that the Celtics have shown belief, helped him develop, and given him the opportunity to succeed in the NBA. After next season, Boston should be ready to open up the checkbook and go over the aprons for a few seasons.
They’ll have big deals for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, plus a lot of young players will be ready for new deals, like Payton Pritchard, who should be in line for a big raise. If that’s the Celtics’ plan, to keep building internally and paying their own homegrown talent, this is the best way to achieve that goal.
But if they aren’t set on staying under the tax next season, it would make sense to take care of Queta now and make sure he’s extended through his prime, or tradeable on a bigger contract. There are a bunch of ways to attack this, and most of them will benefit the Celtics in one way or another; it just depends on what their short and long-term ambitions include.
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