Celtics trade Jaden Springer to Houston Rockets
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics got into the NBA's trade frenzy on Wednesday, sending backup guard Jaden Springer to the Houston Rockets. It's a trade Brad Stevens and the Celtics were expected to make ahead of Thursday afternoon's trade deadline in order to help alleviate the franchise's enormous luxury tax bill.
The Celtics officially announced the deal on Thursday, acquiring a conditional 2031 second-round pick from Houston Rockets in exchange for Springer, a 2030 second-round pick, and a conditional 2027 second-round pick.
Who is Jaden Springer?
The Celtics acquired Springer, the 28th overall pick in 2021, from the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of last season's NBA trade deadline for a 2024 second-round pick. The 22-year-old played sparingly for the Celtics during the team's run to an NBA title last season, and he only suited up for 26 games in the 2024-25 season.
But Springer did bring some solid defense to the floor in his limited minutes for Boston. His biggest game in green came on Jan. 22 in Los Angeles, when Springer scored eight points and swiped four steals to swing the road contest against the Clippers in Boston's favor.
Springer has a ton of defensive upside, but struggled to crack the rotation on Boston's loaded roster. Now he'll look to bring his defensive energy to Ime Udoka's system in Houston.
The Celtics get luxury tax help by trading Springer
The Celtics are a second-apron team and had $196 million in salary on the books ahead of the Springer trade. The fourth-year guard was making $4 million this season, but he would have cost the Celtics much more had the team carried him past the deadline.
Boston's payroll and luxury tax bill decreased by roughly $16 million with the Springer trade, according to NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan. It also gives the Celtics a $4 million trade exception to work with for the next year.
Trading Springer also opens a new vacancy on the Celtics roster, with two roster spots now available. Stevens has two weeks to get the Boston roster back up to 14 players, with wing depth the squad's biggest need as the Celtics head toward the stretch run.
Stevens could simply fill one of the roster spots by converting forward Drew Peterson from a two-way contract to a standard contract. The 6-foot-9 Peterson has played in 13 games for Boston this season, and has shot 45.8 percent from the floor and 38.9 from three-point range in his limited action.
The NBA trade deadline is 3 p.m. on Thursday.