Buckle up, Boston Celtics fans. It’s going to be a busy, rumor-filled month heading into the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline. The Celtics are shaping up to be legitimate mid-season buyers for the first time since 2022, when they brought in Derrick White.
There’s no guarantee that they pull the trigger on any major move, but there’s been a consistent stream of speculation all season long. The Cs lost Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet over the summer, and entered the 2025-26 campaign seemingly understaffed in the frontcourt.
Naturally, Boston gets brought up as a potential landing spot any time a starting-caliber center reportedly becomes available.
This week, that player has been Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. Multiple reports have indicated that the Celtics have interest in landing the former Michigan State standout in the next month.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto shared some added context to the rumors on Friday, sharing that Memphis isn’t particularly eager to send Jackson Jr. to a new home.
“Amid Ja Morant trade talks, Jaren Jackson Jr. remains a player the Memphis Grizzlies want to build with, according to an ESPN report,” Scotto explained. “However, that stance hasn’t stopped various teams across the league from registering interest in Jackson Jr, including the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, league sources told HoopsHype.”
What would a Jaren Jackson Jr. trade mean for the Celtics?
There are two major takeaways that Celtics fans should note here.
First, it sounds like Boston really likes the idea of adding the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year to their roster for the long term. Jackson Jr. just signed a four-year extension, which sets him up to make $49, $50.5, $52, and $53.5 million in each respective season through the 2029-30 campaign.
If the Celtics were to bring him in, they’d commit about $194 million to Jackson Jr., Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White next season. Paying those four players alone would put Boston over the salary cap. They can legally spend above the threshold, but the more they spend, the harsher the penalties become. Fans should be quite familiar with the second apron and the consequences that high-spending teams face because of it, seeing how it was the driving force behind the Celtics’ summer shakeup.
Second, if Memphis really plans on building around Jackson Jr., then it’s going to take a strong offer from the Celtics to get a deal done. Financial requirements would all but guarantee that both Anferenee Simons and Sam Hauser would have to go to the Grizzlies in a hypothetical trade.
Then, you have to consider what they’d actually want. You don’t trade one of your franchise building blocks for Hauser and an expiring Simons. You want draft picks and young players. So, the Celtics would likely have to attach multiple first-round picks, plus at least one of Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh.
For the reasons outlined above, gutting the assets would make team-building unbelievably difficult for Boston. Not only would almost all of their money be tied into four players, but they’d have relinquished promising young talent on team-friendly contracts as well as draft picks that could be used to acquire more of said cheap young talent.
If there’s anyone to believe can solve a high-level team-building conundrum like this, it’s Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens. So, if the notification pops up that Jackson Jr. is headed to Boston, just breathe and trust Brad.