The Boston Celtics have had a consistently busy offseason as they attempt to prepare for a Jayson Tatum-less season. Having hit the reset button, the Celtics have made multiple moves to shed salary and tuck themselves below the luxury tax threshold.

The most prominent among them have been the trades for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, with the latter also resulting in the arrival of Anfernee Simons from the Portland Trail Blazers. Simons is owed around $27 million for the upcoming season, and the Celtics are still around $20 million over the luxury tax threshold, per Real GM.

Looking to shed further salary, the Celtics are understood to be actively trying to move Simons in another considerable trade.

“I have talked to other teams who have said they are actively trying to trade Anfernee Simons. Whether they can or not is another [thing],” Brian Windhorst revealed on the Hoop Collective.

Boston Celtics on mission to shed salary

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Simons joined the Celtics after averaging 19.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game while scoring at almost 50% from the field and a career-high 38.1% from the three-point zone. However, that is only good for the Celtics to view the 26-year-old guard as another means to salary reduction.

That seems to be a matter of timing rather than Simons’ potential, as the Celtics continue to prioritize financial flexibility over roster upgrades for the new season. Alongside Simons, Boston is also understood to be looking for avenues to trade Georges Niang.

Porzingis was owed over $30 million for the upcoming season while Holiday was owed $32 million. The combined moves are understood to have saved the Celtics close to $200 million in combined salaries and luxury tax payments.

However, they are still projected to have a payroll of over $207 million, $20 million above the luxury tax threshold. As a result, even the likes of Derrick White and Jaylen Brown have been subjected to considerable trade rumors in recent weeks.

Derrick White Breaks Silence After Celtics Trades originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Boston Celtics made a few seismic changes this offseason, most notably trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Boston did this not because they wanted to get rid of those two per se, but because they wanted to get under the NBA’s second tax apron.

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Other Celtics also appeared in trade rumors, like Derrick White, who was floated as a potential trade target for the Golden State Warriors by Logan Murdock. However, nothing ever materialized from that and White remains a Celtic.

Regardless, the Celtics will be a very different team next year. Not just from trading Porzingis and Holiday, but also because Luke Kornet has left for San Antonio, and indications are Al Horford will leave too. Plus, Jayson Tatum likely won’t play during the 2025-26 season.

Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9)© Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

With all the changes Boston has made, White spoke for the first time about the trades they’ve made. While talking with NBC Sports’ Chris Forsberg, White talked about their losses and what’s to come next season.

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“It’s always tough to see guys leave, especially people that you won a championship with and had so many great battles with,” White told Forsberg. “Obviously, seeing KP and Jrue get traded, it was tough to see. And then Luke (Kornet) signs somewhere else.

“Having a different team and having those guys leave is kind of difficult, but it’s part of the business, and I’m confident the guys that we have coming in and the guys that we still have returning. So it’s gonna be a lot of fun, and it’s gonna be a different challenge, but I think that’s just the great thing about basketball.”

Unless the Celtics make more changes before the new season starts, White’s new teammates will be Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang, Josh Minott, Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, and Max Shulga.

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Related: Celtics’ Brad Stevens Announces Al Horford News After Lakers Report

Related: Celtics Facing Backlash After Trade Announcement

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.

With the Boston Celtics trading away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, it has led to some speculation that the team isn’t done making moves to give them more financial flexibility. While there have been rumors around the Celtics showing interest in Damian Lillard, another guard who has been talked about in the basketball world is the status of Derrick White.

The standout star for Boston would speak about the rumors around him possibly being traded and revealed that team president Brad Stevens and White’s representation have been talking about the speculation. He would say that he is not “too worried about anything” about a potential move from the team, according to NBC Sports Boston.

“I think every summer is pretty crazy, especially nowadays,” White said. “But I didn’t feel too worried about anything. My agent and Brad had been talking, and all the other rumors and stuff, I wasn’t really too worried about.

“I mean, I feel like it’s cool to be wanted by other teams, but I wanted to stay in Boston, and I was glad they wanted to keep me,” White continued.

White has no doubt been an impactful player for the team on both sides of the ball, so much so that Jake Fischer reports that the Celtics would want a “Mikal Bridges-type package,” which includes a bevy of draft capital.

“Speaking of the Knicks: Sources say Boston told at least one rival team that it would have insisted on a ‘Mikal Bridges-type’ package to part with Derrick White, league sources say. The Celtics have certainly received no shortage of inbound trade calls on both White and Jaylen Brown in recent days, but nothing got serious on either front,” Fischer said.

Celtics’ Derrick White on seeing teammates get traded

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With the Celtics’ offseason moves showing a retooling phase, White would also talk about teammates moving on to different journeys in the NBA. He would call it “tough,” especially since the moments that were made with one another, highlighted by a championship in 2024, will go down in history.

“It’s always tough to see guys leave, especially people that you won a championship with and had so many great battles with,” White said. “Obviously, seeing KP [Porzingis] and Jrue [Holiday] get traded, it was tough to see. And then Luke (Kornet) signs somewhere else.

“Having a different team and having those guys leave is kind of difficult, but it’s part of the business, and I’m confident the guys that we have coming in and the guys that we still have returning,” White continued. “So it’s gonna be a lot of fun, and it’s gonna be a different challenge, but I think that’s just the great thing about basketball.”

At any rate, Boston looks to bounce back after a disappointing playoff exit to the New York Knicks in the playoffs, which included the serious Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum.

The Boston Celtics have made a few trades in the past few days, though they were to accomplish their offseason goal of getting under the NBA’s second tax apron. However, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported that the Celtics and Toronto Raptors discussed a trade involving Derrick White.

“In addition to teams calling about Jaylen Brown, Derrick White has also been targeted by teams with Top-10 picks,” Siegel wrote. “The Toronto Raptors recently made an offer involving the 9th pick for White.”

No trade was agreed to, as White remained with the Celtics, and the Raptors used the No. 9 pick to select Collin Murray-Boyles.

While a trade never happened, The Ringer’s Zach Lowe confirmed that the two sides discussed a trade. However, he also revealed another detail about that particular trade discussion while also revealing how much Boston values White.

“There were reports that the Raptors offered number nine for Derrick White,” Lowe said. “I’m told that’s true, but that had happened like a month and a half ago, right after (Jayson) Tatum got hurt, and Boston laughed at that offer and said, ‘We need way more than number nine for Derrick White.'”

White has developed into one of the better two-way guards in the NBA since Boston acquired him three years ago. The Celtics may trade him, but he’s not as expendable as Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were before they traded both away in separate deals.

Through this, Lowe indirectly confirmed that if the Celtics were to consider trading White, a trade suitor would have to pay a high price to acquire him.

Related: New Jaylen Brown, Derrick White Trade Report Hours Before NBA Draft

Related: Jrue Holiday Breaks Silence With 3-Word Message After Celtics Trade

Earlier this offseason, the Utah Jazz made a change to its executive ranks, hiring away longtime Boston Celtics exec and former assistant general manager Austin Ainge to be the team’s new president of basketball operations. Ainge made waves when he said that fans won’t be seeing the Jazz tank this year, and it looks as though he’s hellbent on fulfilling that promise, as according to ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel, they have been in hot pursuit of Celtics star Jaylen Brown.

However, Ainge, during the night of the 2025 NBA Draft, denied these rumors and said that there’s no truth to them, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune.

This could end up being a smokescreen as the Jazz continue their pursuit of Brown, or perhaps their previous overtures were rebuffed by the Celtics and he’s simply trying to save face by denying the rumors entirely. Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that the Jazz are going to have to up their offer even further if they were to make Boston think about trading Brown.

Alas, the Celtics seem to have made it clear that Brown, along with Derrick White, is not available for trade. While the 2025-26 season is shaping up to be a gap year for the Celtics, they have every intention in the world to return to contending ways once Jayson Tatum returns from his Achilles injury — hence their decision to keep Brown and White.

Assessing the Jazz’s roster

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At the very least, the Jazz were able to draft one of the most talented players in the 2025 NBA Draft class in Ace Bailey, disregarding his pre-draft antics and betting on his talent. Bailey will be tasked to help turn things around for a Jazz team that’s been stuck without a blue-chip, franchise-altering talent despite drafting in the lottery for two straight years prior to 2025.

The Jazz still have a talented frontcourt trio in Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Walker Kessler, but their backcourt still has plenty of question marks. Isaiah Collier has shown flashes of being a brilliant playmaker which bodes well for his development in Year 2, Keyonte George runs hot and cold, and Collin Sexton is still around, but they don’t have that undisputed number one floor general yet to lead the way.

It remains an uphill climb for the Jazz to compete for a playoff spot in the stacked Western Conference whether or not they manage to trade for Brown. While they may not intentionally bottom out anymore the way they did over the past three seasons, more likely than not, they’ll find themselves in the lottery anyway come 2026.