Here Are The Roster Moves The Celtics Need To Make To Be Able To Sign Kevin Durant

The Boston Celtics' top free agent target this offseason is Kevin Durant. That's the case for many teams this offseason, and the addition of Durant to Boston would immediately put them near the top of the Eastern Conference. But how can the Celtics afford to sign Durant this offseason?  

Unlike several of the teams after Durant, the Celtics won't need to make drastic roster changes to afford him. Already having nearly $17 million in room, Boston would need to clear less than $10 million to make space for the roughly $25 million deal Durant would get in a max contract. Below we have all the moves the Celtics would need to make to have the cap space to sign Kevin Durant this offseason. 

Renounce Evan Turner's Cap Hold 
Turner is set to be an unrestricted free agent, but carries a cap hold of roughly $4.4 million until he signs with a new team or the Celtics release his cap hold. If the Celtics land Durant, there won't be much of a need to keep Turner around. 

Waive John Holland 
Holland has a non-guaranteed contract worth $874,636. The Celtics would free up every cent by waiving him. He hardly played after getting the call up from the D-League, so waiving him wouldn't be a major loss. 

Release The Cap Holds Of Guerschon Yabusele And Ante Zizic
This works out perfectly if the Celtics plan on keeping these two first rounders overseas for a season or two. The duo have a combined cap hold of just over $3 million. With or without Durant, the duo could very well stay overseas for this coming season. 

That's all the Celtics need to do to clear the cap space to sign Durant. But that's not all they can do. They have the non-guaranteed contract of Amir Johnson (worth a whopping $12 million) and Jonas Jerebko ($5 million) that they can clear by waiving those two. Boston can even release the cap holds of restricted free agents Jared Sullinger ($4.43 million) and Tyler Zeller ($3.7 million) to free more space. That's enough money to sign Durant and another max contract player, such as Al Horford.