Celtics Shed Salary, Acquire Bol Bol In 3-Team Trade With Nuggets And Spurs
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics are taking a flyer on injured center Bol Bol while also getting closer to avoiding the luxury tax. The Celtics have reportedly reached a three-team deal with the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets that will bring Bol and PJ Dozier to Boston.
In the deal, which was first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski late Tuesday night, Boston is sending Juancho Hernangomez to San Antonio while Denver is receiving Bryn Forbes from the Spurs. Hernangomez was barely playing for the Celtics, so the move is mostly to shed his nearly $7 million salary to help Boston get closer to the tax threshold. The trade will save the Celtics $4.3 million on the books.
Bol, who is 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-8 wingspan, is scheduled to have surgery on his injured foot and will be out for the next two-to-three months. He had been traded by Denver to Detroit recently, but that trade was voided after Bol failed his physical with the Pistons. He could potentially start playing for the Celtics near the end of the regular season, but that is no guarantee.
The 22-year-old Bol will be a restricted free agent in the offseason. The Celtics will hold his Bird Rights if he remains on the roster the rest of the year, and the team could tender him a qualifying offer this summer. Brad Stevens and company will now have a few months to watch him rehab and determine if they want him to be part of the mix in the future. There is certainly some intrigue for a big man who can handle the ball wall and has some range.
Dozier, 25, is out indefinitely after tearing his ACL in late November. The combo guard previously played for Boston on a two-way contract during the 2018-19 season.
Wojnaroswki is reporting that the Celtics don't have any immediate plans to waive either player. Both could become part of future deals to match salary, but cannot be traded together ahead of the deadline.
While the moves won't really help the current Celtics team, which is sitting at 23-22 and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, it does save Boston some salary by way of shedding Hernangomez's contract from the books.
