The Boston Celtics significantly altered their roster this offseason — shedding a hefty amount of payroll by trading away two lineup regulars in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
Boston also wasn’t able to retain other key players in free agency, as Al Horford and Luke Kornet signed with the Warriors and Spurs, respectively, out on the open market.
The writing was on the wall that the Celtics had to augment a significant segment of the roster — due in large part to the hefty luxury-tax penalties set to hit Boston as a consequence of operating over the restrictive second apron of the NBA’s new salary-cap threshold.