The Boston Celtics acquired Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls via trade on Tuesday, Feb. 3. They sent out Anfernee Simons as part of the deal, with both teams swapping second-round picks.
The trade saw the Celtics duck under the first luxury tax apron. However, they’re still $6 million away from being completely out of the tax. At first glance, the move to acquire Vucevic was made with shedding salary in mind while also improving the center rotation.
Yet, it was the work Brad Stevens did with the Celtics future flexibility that is the most important aspect of this deal.
Boston used its $22 million traded player exception (TPE) from the Kristaps Porzingis deal that sent him to the Atlanta Hawks in the summer. As a result, the Celtics have created a new TPE worth $27 million.
Essentially, Brad Stevens has reset the timer on Boston’s TPE, while adding $7 million to its value. Boston can now absorb a sizeable contract (up to $27 million) at any point in the next 12 months without the need to match salaries. And, for a team that could be out of the tax by the offseason, that provides them with a significant amount of flexibility in the summer.
Celtics Get Multiple Bites Of The Trade Apple
Vucevic is far from a throw-in on this deal. Even at 35, he’s still a valuable big man who can improve Boston’s current roster. His floor-spacing, rebounding and facilitation will be key to allowing Joe Mazzulla to implement a five-out offense, the same way he did during Porzingis’ time with the franchise.
Furthermore, Vucevic has been putting up some sizeable numbers. In 48 games this season, he’s averaging 16.9 points, 9 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 50.5% shooting from the field and 37.6% from deep.
Still, Vucevic is on an expiring contract. He will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. If the Celtics are under the tax, and his $21.4 million salary comes off the books, the Celtics will have cap space to play with when rounding out the roster next summer. Pair that with the newly created TPE, and Stevens will have plenty of trade options available to him.
Of course, Boston could still re-sign Vucevic to a short-term team-friendly deal, assuming he makes a positive impact between now and the end of the season.
Why The Celtics Creating A New TPE Is Important
A TPE has a 12-month timer. After that, they expire and vanish into the abyss. By structuring the Vucevic trade this way, the Celtics have effectively hit reset on the TPE created by the Porzingis trade, giving them an additional six months to pursue a potential trade target.
If Boston still harbors hopes of acquiring a long-term piece to add to the core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White , the TPE is arguably their biggest trade chip.
It’s worth noting that teams can’t aggregate salaries on top of a TPE. So, Boston can’t use a TPE and a player’s salary in a deal. For example, the Celtics can not target someone earning $37 million by using the TPE and Sam Hauser’s contract. Any deal involving the exception must be made for someone earning $27 million or less.
One of the biggest concerns about keeping Anfernee Simons beyond the trade deadline was that if he walked away, Boston lost its best trade asset. Now, the Celtics could head into the summer with a pathway to cap space and a trade exception to play with.
The Celtics filled a key position of need and created flexibility for this summer. For that reason, the Vucevic trade was a masterstroke.
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