Following the Celtics’ ugly playoff loss to the 76ers, I was pretty confident that trading Sam Hauser would be on the team’s offseason agenda. There was clearly a logjam on the wing and no room for the young guys to come in and impact the game. On top of that, Sam was making the most money on the team after Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White. Moving his contract seemed like the most logical path to re-shaping the roster in a meaningful way.
But then a few notable things happened in the offseason. For one, the Celtics fixed their center depth by adding Mitchell Robinson in free agency. That took away the need to trade for a big and gave Boston another demonic offensive rebounder, somewhat lessening the need to have guys like Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh out there (who all attack the glass better than Hauser).
Then, of course, the Celtics made their big splash, swapping Jaylen Brown for Paul George. Although they basically play the same position, PG will miss a lot of games and have his minutes managed, especially in contrast to JB, who has basically been a high-minute iron man for most of his career.
Sure, PG will probably be the starting small forward on opening night, but I have a feeling there will be plenty of opportunities for all of the wing players to get reps over the course of the season. Even when he is on the floor, George is now much more of a finesse player than Brown, so a lot of the grunt work JB did last season will be on the table.
Celtics have no motivation to trade Hauser
The other big thing that has shifted the math a bit is that by waiving his trade kicker, Paul George saved the Celtics enough money to duck the luxury tax simply by waiving Dalano Banton. Shedding Sam’s salary was always viewed as the easiest path to getting off the tax, but that’s no longer a necessity.
So, now, the dust is starting to settle, and it’s easy to see how well Hauser should fit in with this team. He gives them an elite floor-spacing threat and much-needed gravity whenever he’s on the court. He’s one of the best shooters in the entire NBA, a good thing to have for a team that wants to let them fly. He also never turns the ball over and has found ways to mask his shortcomings.
His contract is still a relative steal and will likely return positive value as well. He doesn’t need to be a starter and shouldn’t be locked into the huge role he had last year, even in the playoffs, but he’s still a very useful player with a good contract. The need to move him is gone, so unless the Celtics get blown away with an offer they can’t refuse, I see no reason why Sam won’t be a helpful rotation player in Boston again this season.
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