An unexpected Celtics player could be ‘most likely’ to be traded

The Celtics have one of the most dire payroll situations in the NBA. Going into the offseason they are one of the few teams in the league over the second apron. If they do not make changes they will owe near a quarter-billion dollars in penalty taxes, not to mention the half-billion payroll. Clearly they need to cut costs, and Sam Hauser has emerged as the new likely guy on the chopping block.

Hauser, 27, is entering the first year of his four-year, $45 million extension. The team will need to cut $20 million in bills to get under the second apron and $40 million overall to get under the luxury tax, according to Chris Forsberg. Moving his $11.3 million AAV does not solve all of Boston's dilemmas, but it would put them on the right track without losing a key starter.

"Whenever I talk to teams about Boston, they're almost viewed as a target where they've got a little something for everybody," Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated said (via Nick Gross of NBC Sports Boston). "Hauser, to me, is the most likely candidate to go, just because you have [Baylor] Scheierman there to effectively fill his role."

Unlike some of the other players that have been brought up as trade candidates (Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porziņģis), Hauser has Scheierman as his direct replacement and won't shake up the fabric of the Celtics' core. Again, Hauser would not be the only guy moved, but it would make a lot of sense if he is one of the players shipped out of town.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.