Boston Celtics Wiretap

Damian Lillard is set to become a free agent for the first time in his NBA career. Lillard will be waived-and-stretched by the Milwaukee Bucks after the NBA moratorium ends on Sunday afternoon. Upon clearing waivers, Lillard will be free to pick his next team.

One team Lillard has interest in joining is the Boston Celtics. And the Celtics reportedly have shared interest in teaming up with the veteran point guard.

When Lillard was seeking a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers two years ago, he wasn't interested in a trade to Boston. Now, Lillard has some interest in the Celtics, in part because of the close friendship he's built with star forward Jayson Tatum.

Boston is resetting their roster this offseason, as the team has deals lined up to get themselves under the second apron. The Celtics will be without Tatum for most, if not all, of next season as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon. The same is true for Lillard, who also suffered a torn Achilles, earlier in the postseason. The idea behind signing the veteran star would be to line things up for the 2026-27 season, when both Tatum and Lillard should be fully recovered from their injuries.

Al Horford continues to consider his options in free agency as he is set to leave the Boston Celtics. The Golden State Warriors are considered the frontrunners to sign Horford, but he is also considering the Los Angeles Lakers or even retirement.

"I'm told he is reviewing multiple options including the Warriors, the Lakers, but also retirement," said Shams Charania on a Thursday afternoon Sports Center appearance. "He is 39 years old. He just finished season 18. I'm told it would be a surprise if he makes a final decision by this weekend. He certainly has earned the right to make a decision at his own time.

"I will say though the Warriors are hopeful of where they stand in all this if Al Horford decides to play again."

Horford would he a strong theoretical fit with the Warriors due to his passing, perimeter shooting and defense. 

Horford, who is represented by Jason Glushon, has also been linked with the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.

Last season, Horford averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 36.3 percent on three-pointers for the Celtics.

Damian Lillard will have no shortage of suitors after he clears waivers. The Milwaukee Bucks chose to waive and stretch Lillard to create the cap room necessary to sign Myles Turner in free agency. Lillard is said to be happy with the move, as he'll have the opportunity to pick his next team.

Multiple contenders are expected to express interest in signing Lillard. Teams already known to have interest in signing Lillard when he clears waivers are the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

Lillard is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season, as he recovers from a torn Achilles that he suffered during the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Teams who sign him this year, will be making a signing for the future, as Lillard is likely to spend most of the upcoming season rehabbing.

Lillard may choose to sign with a team now, and rehabbing with that team's medical staff. The other option for Lillard is to wait to see how situations around the league shake out, before signing a deal with a new team.

Al Horford is drawing interest from several contending teams, including the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Lakers, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The Warriors are reportedly prioritizing signing Horford. 

Horford averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season while shooting 36.3 percent from three.

Luka Garza and the Boston Celtics have agreed to a two-year, $5.5 million deal that is fully guaranteed. Garza spent the past three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In 39 games in 2024-25, Garza averaged 3.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes for the Wolves.

Luke Kornet and the San Antonio Spurs have agreed to a four-year, $41 million deal. The Boston Celtics had hoped to retain Kornet, who emerged over the past few seasons as a key part of their frontcourt rotation.

Kornet, who is represented by Maxwell Wiepking, averaged 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.6 minutes across 73 games with the Celtics.

Kornet turns 30 in July and is a Texas native.

The Boston Celtics have exercised their $2.27 million team option for the 2024-25 season on JD Davison. Davison's contract is non-guaranteed. 

Davison appeared in 16 games with the Celtics last season, averaging 2.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 5.8 minutes. 

Davison, who was Most Valuable Player of the G League last season, averaged 25.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.9 assists in 34.6 minutes across 45 games.

The Boston Celtics are exploring trading newly acquired guard Anfernee Simons and his $27.7 million expiring contract as part of their continued salary-cutting efforts, according to league sources. The move would help Boston position themselves below the luxury tax threshold while creating flexibility to retain key free agents.

Despite already trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis this week, the Celtics remain approximately $15 million above the luxury tax line. The franchise aims to escape the tax entirely to begin resetting the harsh repeater tax penalties while maintaining roster flexibility.

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens emphasized two organizational priorities following Wednesday's NBA Draft: regaining roster flexibility and creating a path to retain free agents Luke Kornet and Al Horford. Both veteran big men are considered crucial pieces for the organization's future plans.

Stevens also acknowledged the complexity of roster decisions under the current collective bargaining agreement.

"There's a lot of things that go into these moves and a lot of things that are really important. And, listen, again, it goes back to prioritizing our flexibility," Stevens said.

The Celtics acquired Simons and Georges Niang earlier this week, but both players are candidates for immediate trades before playing games in Boston. The team appears focused on keeping Sam Hauser despite his tradeable four-year, $45 million contract.

Simons averaged 19.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season across 70 games with the Portland Trail Blazers. His scoring ability and expiring contract make him an attractive trade candidate for teams seeking offensive production. Simons was acquired as part of the Holiday trade.

With Jayson Tatum facing a lengthy recovery from a ruptured Achilles injury, the Celtics have additional incentive to reduce payroll now while positioning for future spending flexibility.

"The fact of the matter is the new CBA is set up so that teams can't spend enormous amounts of money for long periods of time," said vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren.

After multiple days of reports that the Boston Celtics were willing to listen to trade offers on Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, vice president Mike Zarren went on record to state that the team was never close to a deal involving either player.

“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them,” Zarren said. “I’m not sure where all this reporting came from but those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”

By all accounts, the Celtics maintained an extremely high asking price. The Ringer's Zach Lowe reported that the Toronto Raptors offered a trade package around the No. 9 pick in this week's draft.

“There were reports that the Raptors offered the No. 9 pick for Derrick White,” Lowe said on his podcast Thursday. “I’m told that’s true but that it happened a month and a half ago after Jayson Tatum got hurt and Boston laughed at that offer and said we need way more than No. 9 for Derrick White.”

The Celtics successfully trimmed payroll and luxury tax this week by trading away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.

Brown is entering Year 2 of his five-year, $285 million supermax extension. White is entering Year 1 of his four-year, $118 million contract extension signed in 2024.

The Boston Celtics have agreed to sign Max Shulga to a Two-Way contract after selecting him with the No. 57 pick. Shulga was the Atlantic-10 Player of the Year at VCU.

Boston had Miles Norris and Drew Peterson on Two-Way contracts last season.