The Celtics have traded veteran forward Chris Boucher to the Jazz, a league source confirmed to MassLive. ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the deal.
Boucher signed a one-year deal with the Celtics in the offseason in hopes he would be able to crack the rotation. Instead, he’s consistently been on the outside looking in and has played just one game since Nov. 23 for the C’s.
Now, Boucher will move onto the Jazz in hopes he can get more playing time. Utah is in rebuild mode but did make a big splash earlier in the week by trading for the Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. in a blockbuster deal.
The trade frees up another roster spot for the Celtics and sheds another $2.3 million from their salary cap. The C’s currently have 13 players on their roster as currently constructed. They’re still roughly $3.6 million above the luxury tax line, but there’s a chance they could dip under with subsequent moves.
The Celtics made their first trade of the week Tuesday, moving guard Anfernee Simons for big man Nikola Vucevic. That trade shored up Boston’s front court rotation, plus it saved them about $6 million. Notably, the Simons-for-Vucevic trade isn’t official yet, meaning there could be some further deals for the Celtics.
The trade deadline is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, so it remains to be seen what further move the Celtics will make following the Boucher deal.
