Los Angeles Lakers fans are laughing as the Celtics' teardown was unsuccessful and will force Boston to make uncomfortable moves before the trade deadline. After Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury, it was clear that the Celtics would need to cut salary. They want to dodge the punitive repeater tax and get out of the aprons. It forced Boston to dump Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, but that wasn’t enough to accomplish their goals.
The Celtics flipped Holiday for Anfernee Simons to save money and get an expiring contract. Dumping Simons likely puts them below the tax, but they can’t find a trade partner (subscription required).