Getty

Sam Hauser #30 and Neemias Queta #88 of the Boston Celtics

When it comes to the success that the Boston Celtics have had over the past five years, forward Sam Hauser is a prime example of one layer the front office has used to develop the team. Hauser was a two-way signee by Boston, developed in the G League, earned playing time with his shooting and finally blossomed into a starter with a $45 million contract. It’s an underdog story, and Hauser became a fan favorite because of it.

Now, as the Celtics evaluate where they are and how they can improve a team that was just ousted in the first round of the playoffs after holding a 3-1 series lead against the Sixers, Hauser may have entered a new phase of his Celtics tenure: Trade bait.

That’s because, with three years and $35 million remaining on his deal, and with a clear skill in his back pocket–he is a career 41.2% 3-point shooter–Hauser is valued around the NBA, and the Celtics do not have a lot of other tools on hand to improve while staying on the right side of the NBA tax rules.

Celtics Might Need Sam Hauser Salary to Facilitate Bigger Trade

The Celtics  do have a significant traded player exception on hand, worth $27.7 million, but the problem is, if they use that, they will be hard-capped at the luxury tax’s first apron, which is $209 million. At around $189 million in payroll, the Celtics would like to stay below the tax line altogether ($201 million) but would also like to add a significant piece, especially a center who could bring a presence in the middle.

Boston could trade for, say, Nic Claxton of the Nets, who is due $23 million next season, and absorb that into the TPE, with draft capital going out. But they’d be hard-capped at $209 million, the first apron, making the deal essentially impossible.

Trading away Hauser, though, changes the calculus. The Celtics could move him as part of a three-way package with the Nets, where Hauser lands with a contender that needs shooting and the Nets get added draft compensation. Thus, the net incoming money for Claxton is around $13 million, leaving Boston around the tax number and with a cushion under the first apron.

It’s probably not the ideal move for the Celtics–they might be better off not touching the TPE at all–but it’s why moving Hauser might be necessary if the Celtics want to add a big man.

NBA in for Big Summer of Movement

The Celtics will be one of the focal points of what should be a very interesting and busy NBA summer.

As one league executive told Heavy: “Definitely a big summer. There is going to be a lot of movement this summer, there are going to be a lot of trades, before the draft, after the draft in July, going into August and September. There are a lot of teams that see themselves in need of a change, so you will see some bad contracts getting moved around with the hope that, new location new results. And you will see some financial moves, if you can set yourself up to get under the tax, which we saw at the deadline too.

“There will be some blockbusters but maybe not as many as some people hope. But, look, if we have two, three blockbusters in one summer, where a few teams are involved in each—that is a big deal.”