Brad Stevens wasted no time this offseason. 

With the Celtics needing to cut salary to avoid being constricted by the second apron, Boston's general manager has made two big moves in two days after the NBA Finals. 

First, he traded Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers in a shrewd move to acquire Anferenee Simons and two second-round picks. Less than 24 hours later, Stevens sent Porzingis to the Hawks in a three-team trade that netted Georges Niang and another second-round pick. 

When the dust settles on both moves, the Celtics will save a projected $180 million in tax penalties according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. 

Holiday was on the books for an additional three years and $104 million. Porzingis has another two years and $60 million on his contract. 

With both players moving on, Boston is now under the second apron by $4.5 million. They're $7.4 million over the first apron and $15.4 million over the luxury tax.

So why is this important? The second apron incurs a number of penalties that teams want to avoid.

Second apron penalties

• Teams above the second apron cannot use the taxpayer mid-level exception (MLE) to sign free agents
• Teams that remain in the second apron for three out of five seasons have their first-round pick seven years in the future frozen and could be moved to the end of the round
• Teams cannot combine salaries of multiple players it outgoing trades
• Teams cannot include cash in trades

In other words, the Celtics offseason just got a lot more flexible now that they're out of the second apron.

WAY more to come, but the Boston Celtics are now out of the second apron by $4.5M.

The Celtics are $7.4M over the first apron and about $15.4M over the luxury tax.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 24, 2025

It doesn't mean Boston can freely operate as they're still in the first apron. However, they can use their MLE to sign a solid free agent and have more wiggle room if Stevens wants to make more deals. 

If the first two days of the offseason are any indication, expect the Celtics to be much more active in the near future.

MORE: Bulls predicted to trade Patrick Williams for $107 million scorer