Now that the Oklahoma City Thunder have been crowned the 2025 NBA champions, all 30 teams have their eyes set on the 2025-26 season.
Of course, part of that involves bringing in new talent via the NBA draft, but it’s also achieved through major trades, which the Boston Celtics are currently involved in.
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The Celtics are engaged in a three-team trade with the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets. They’re trading away big man Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Georges Niang and a future second-round pick, while the Nets acquire Terance Mann and the 22nd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Porzingis getting the boot isn’t surprising because he was entering the last year of his $60 million contract, and he’ll get a new home alongside Trae Young.
For the Celtics, it’s unclear what their season will look like, as Jayson Tatum will be out rehabbing his ruptured Achilles for its entirety. However, an aging Niang does return home to his roots in Massachusetts.
He’s also on a three-year $25 million contract, which is considerably less than Porzingis’ and is the latest move the Celtics have made to shrink their payroll, which was set to become a league record $500 million next season.
In another salary-shrinking and luxury tax-avoiding trade, they sent Jrue Holiday back to the Portland Trail Blazers, as he was expected to make around $72 million over the next two seasons. The Trail Blazers gave up Anfernee Simons and two second-round draft picks, but got a vet in Holiday with two recent championships who can help mold a young core.
Another trade this week was between the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards that sent CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick to DC, while Zion Williamson teams up with Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the 40th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
However, by far the most significant trade we’ve seen thus far is Kevin Durant joining the Houston Rockets, which he learned about while on stage at the Fanatics Fest over the weekend.
See social media’s reaction to an already eventful offseason below.
