The Boston Celtics made a move ahead of the trade deadline, sending Jaden Springer and a 2030 second round draft pick to the Houston Rockets for an exchange of second round draft picks, according to Shams Charania.

Trading Springer proves to be a move to shed salary, as his $4 million contract would’ve cost around $16 million against the cap with their current financial situation as a second apron team and with repeater tax penalties.

This move gives Boston $15.4 million in luxury tax savings, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. It also opens up an additional roster spot, which now makes two available in Boston.

It’ll be interesting to see what the next move is for Brad Stevens, as Boston only has 13 players currently rostered now, and the NBA requires at least 14. So there’s still a move that has to be done for the Celtics.

Something that could easily happen is simply upgrading a two-way player from Maine— one of Drew Peterson, JD Davison, or rookie Anton Watson. Peterson has been with Boston more than the other two this season, so it would likely be him to get the nod if Stevens decides to add from within.

If it’s a true salary dump, then the options are limited as to who Stevens could bring in, and it’s worth mentioning that any potential player could only be a rental for this year, and that’s not really Stevens’ style.

Here’s more news and notes coming from the Celtics:

• Jaylen Brown was frustrated in Cleveland and received a technical foul while on the bench. It was during a time that the Cavs were chipping away at a potential comeback late in the second half.
• Derrick White seems to be back on track after a slow start to January. Over the last five games, he’s averaging 19.6 points on 50 percent shooting, three rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. The Celtics rarely lose when White shoots 40 percent from the floor. As Chris Forsberg said “the C’s go as far as Derrick goes.”
• Joe Mazzulla challenged starting group to play better in Cleveland or he would opt to play the “stay ready group”, as Jayson Tatum explained postgame: “Our competitive spirit wasn’t where it needed to be and Joe said ‘yo, if you’re tired, just tell me, I’ll sit you guys down and let the stay ready group play. We just had a choice to make… it brought the best out of us and that’s how we’re supposed to play.”
• Brad Stevens should be browsing around in the buyout market. Some of the names include Torrey Craig, PJ Tucker, Kelly Oubre, Kyle Anderson, and Javonte Green as potential targets.
• Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday received their Olympic rings this week ahead of their game in Cleveland.
• Paul Pierce got himself a pair of Jaylen Brown’s 741 Performance Rover shoes.
• Jaylen Brown recruiting Kristaps Porzingis to join his 741 Performance brand.
• Rookie Baylor Scheierman is getting recalled from Maine more often during the second half of the season than he has throughout the entire season.
• Jrue Holiday is on the injury report with a lingering right shoulder impingement ahead of Thursday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.

Boston’s next game is against the Dallas Mavericks at the TD Garden on Thursday.

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