Entering the offseason, the champs had few options to remake their roster, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? In their first official move since the NBA Draft, the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach is reporting that the Celtics are picking up a $2.1 million team option on the final year of Sam Hauser with plans to pursue a new deal when sides can officially negotiate on July 9th.
As former CelticsBlogger and Spotrac’s Keith Smith points out, this was the most likely and “preferred path”:
Having Hauser for just $2.1 million this season would be a boon to the tax bill. He could then sign a four-year extension worth up to $80 million. (It won’t come in at that number. That’s simply the max Boston could give Hauser.)
There had been some skepticism about Hauser’s return because of the drafting of Baylor Scheierman out of Creighton, another sweet shooting forward joining the team on a team-friendly deal. However, Hauser is arguably one of Boston’s biggest developmental success stories.
On Friday, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said of Hauser, “I’m not going to get into the particulars with what decisions will make with each guy and their contracts, but I will say we want Hauser to be here for a long time.”
After signing a two-way contract with the team as an undrafted player in 2021, his deal was converted to a standard contract before the 2022 Finals run. Two years later, he was an integral part in raising Banner 18, averaging 8.2 points in 15.5 minutes per game against the Mavericks and making 11-of-23 threes in addition to being a solid defender.
