Celtics are staring Cap-hell in the face... and now with Tatum out with an Achilles tear, 2025-2026 is the no-brainer year for them to avoid the worst of the repeater tax and retool their team.
While Jrue Holiday and Porzingis are the main culprits for cap casualties, I was less sure what trade would make sense and work logistically. This trade however--while having clear controversies--works for both teams.
1st for The Spurs, having landed the 2nd overall pick they now face an interesting situation. Flagg is the clear #1 but with him off the board the other top prospects are all guards. Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, or Jeremiah Fears would all be somewhat awkward fits alongside the Spurs' Fox x Castle combo... not to mention that the addition of Fox has made Castle's lack of shooting somewhat more problematic in the Spurs lineup. While they may elect to use their 2025 picks to speed up the timeline and trade for someone like a Giannis looking to move on from their current team, if they keep the #2 pick they may look to capitalize on Castle's impressive rookie season to set the team up for current and future success. They turn Castle's clunky backcourt fit with Fox and the #2 pick into Derrick White: a perfect win-now combo guard on a great value contract to slot in next to Fox and/or Harper/Fears/etc. They also turn 1 year of Barnes, who fits somewhat awkwardly in a frontcourt next to Sochan or Keldon Johnson into 4 years of knockdown shooter Sam Hauser whose skillset perfectly complements the athleticism and defense of the Spurs frontcourt. And with playing time already scarce with talented pieces and the 2nd pick coming in, the Spurs could afford to offload the 14th pick and Branham to the Nets to make the trade work.
The Celtics meanwhile make the tough choice to say goodbye to Derrick White and Sam Hauser but in doing so, free some cap: which alongside moving Porzingis would likely get them below the 2nd apron. While this is a step back for the Celtics, Castle's contract and upside will help reorient the roster around Tatum & Brown's next title window! Meanwhile, Harrison Barnes can slot into the other forward spot next to Jaylen Brown for this coming season and then comes off the books in time for Tatum's return to the lineup in '26-'27. The 14th pick also gives the Celtics another talented piece to build around Tatum & Brown's next chapter (maybe a bigman).
The Nets are here to make the numbers work, moving the 36th pick (one of their 5-ish picks in this draft) in order to get a young rotation piece in Branham.