The Celtics have a path to address a need without touching their salary structure, and the name at the center of it is Kris Dunn.
In a proposed deal, Boston would land the elite defender while sending the Clippers three future second-round picks: a 2028 pick via Milwaukee, a 2030 pick via Washington, and a 2031 pick via Boston. For the Celtics, the appeal is obvious. Dunn gives them a player who can impact the game on defense right away, and he has also shown some growth on offense.
He is not being sold as a scoring solution, but there is some clear upward movement there. Last season, Dunn shot 37.4% from three-point range on 2.6 attempts per game, a sign that he is not just surviving on one end while carrying the load on the other.
The financial piece makes the idea even cleaner for Boston. Dunn is set to make $5.7 million next year, which means the Celtics would not need to send out salary in return. As Fran Levia wrote, "The Celtics wouldn't need to send any salary back here."
Levia also pointed out that "Kris Dunn is making only $5.7 million in 2026-27 and could be absorbed into the $27.7 million trade exception they created when they moved Anfernee Simons to the Bulls at the 2026 trade deadline. That TPE remains available until February 5, 2027, so Dunn fits into it easily, while the Clippers would simply turn an expiring 32-year-old rotation guard into three future second-round picks without taking another contract back.”
From Boston’s side, that kind of value would fit the bill: a defensive specialist at a manageable price, with no salary gymnastics required. Dunn’s presence would line up with what Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics are trying to do on a nightly basis.
For the Clippers, the situation is less clear, but the return of three second-rounders could be enough to get their attention as they sort through whatever comes next.
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For Boston, the hold-up matters because the Celtics have a potential claim on the Clippers 2028 first-round pick, so any turbulence around Los Angeles only adds another layer to the transaction. There is also the broader East factor: if Leonard ultimately lands in Toronto, the path through the conference gets tougher for everyone, Boston included, and that makes the final resolution worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]