With the Boston Celtics trade for Paul George now official, more details are starting to trickle out. Among the newest is that George waived his trade kicker, per ESPN's Bobby Marks. This is an important detail because it saves the Celtics money and it opens the door for more upgrades.
CBS Sports' Sam Quinn revealed that the Celtics are now around $8 million below the NBA's first tax apron. He further explained how Boston could use this to their advantage.
This is potentially significant. The Celtics have minimal hard cap space to potentially use their $27.7 million TPE.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) July 6, 2026
With PG waiving the trade bonus, Boston is around $8 million below the first apron. If they trade out Hauser and Banton they can take back a $21.6 million player. https://t.co/qu7jk2tRCQ
For more clarity, they can do this with the $27.7 million Anfernee Simons TPE. Quinn later explained that they can't use it in full even if they were to trade Hauser and waive Banton.
This is not Trey Murphy territory. They'd have to give up a bigger contract to do that. But if they wanted to, say, pursue a Peyton Watson sign-and-trade, or Herb Jones, or another player in the $20ish million range, that's pretty doable now. https://t.co/a7XnLjUc7L
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) July 6, 2026
Hauser is an intriguing trade asset, as he's on a team-friendly deal and his value as a three-point shooter could appeal to a team looking for just that. That's why his name has come up in trade scenarios because he could be the key factor in whether the Celtics get an upgrade for him. George's actions give them that opportunity.
As for Banton, well, I could be wrong, but Boston can simply waive him, make whatever deals they have to, and then bring him back once that's all sorted out if they so choose. If they didn't want him in the first place, they wouldn't have picked up his team option. Exercising his team option, even if they have full control of what to do with him anyway, signals their intent is to keep him.
Boston should only do this if they get someone better than Hauser
There's no need to trade a valued played like Hauser unless they get someone who is better than him. There are players who make $21.6 million who have better reps than Hauser does, like Alex Caruso, Ivica Zubac, and Josh Hart, but it's also fair to say their teams are probably keeping them at all costs, let alone trading them for Hauser.
There are other players paid a similar price who are likely to be available, but it would be debatable as to whether they would be better for Boston than Hauser is knowing his price. Players that come to mind under that umbrella are Kyle Kuzma, Malik Monk, and Grayson Allen.
Boston shouldn't trade Hauser just because. They should only trade him if they know they are getting someone who is better than him. There is also the option that they could get someone with the intend of aggregating the contract with someone else to get someone better, but that might be thinking too far down the line.
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