Details come out about Celtics’ decision to dump Jaden Springer in trade

The Boston Celtics made their first trade of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday, shipping Jaden Springer to the Houston Rockets while swapping draft picks. Now, we have more details on what could be gleaned from such a move: that it was about cutting costs more than anything else.

As explained by Spotrac's Keith Smith on Wednesday, the Springer trade ended up saving the Celtics $15 million in real cash against the luxury tax, despite Springer being on the books for about $4 million.

The C's will eventually sign a replacement player to fill the open spot on their roster. If they were to sign a veteran free agent, the minimum salary would inevitably come in at under $4 million.

Moving Springer certainly doesn't affect the Celtics' chances one way or another, when it comes to competing for another NBA championship. The question is whether the cost-cutting moves stop there. Because if they were to move a more impactful player off their roster, then we'd be talking about a real downgrade and a dent in their title hopes.

The 2025 NBA trade deadline passes at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. It remains to be seen if the C's have another move in them.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.