According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, confirmed by the organization, head coach Joe Mazzulla has signed a mutli-year extension with the Boston Celtics. It became official Friday morning.

Since the indefinite suspension, and subsequent exit, of now Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka, Mazzulla took over as the coach of the Celtics. He has been on a path of excellency and fulfilling high standards.

In his first season, the 37-year-old led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. The following year, in 2024, Mazzulla took them to the NBA Finals and won in five against Dallas Mavericks – when Luka Doncic played for the organization.

“This is truly a blessing,” said Mazzulla. “I would not be here without my faith, my wife, and my children. We are thankful for the partnership with our ownership groups, Brad’s mentorship, and the support of our staff. Most importantly, I am grateful for the players I have been able to coach the past three seasons. I look forward to competing for the Celtics and the city of Boston.”

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Boston Celtics have made significant strides in reducing their overall payroll and luxury tax since the beginning of this offseason.

June 15th, Boston was hovering around a projection of $540 million. August 5th, Boston is now around $239 million. That’s a total of $301 million they’ve been able to eliminate.

To be able to get a huge chunk of their payroll shedded, the Celtics traded away Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. In addition to the two trades, fans also saw the Celtics part ways with Luke Kornet and Al Horford.

Rumor has it that they are looking to trade Anfernee Simons, if it means getting a good deal in return and being able to reduce their payroll even more.

The 2024 NBA champions are looking to reassembling this team through the draft and around Jayson Tatum for when he returns from his Achilles tear.

According to Marc Stein, the Boston Celtics continue to seek out potential trade options involving Anfernee Simons – a player they traded for a month ago when dealing out Jrue Holiday.

Simons is currently on an expiring contract worth $27.7 million. Boston wants to continue to shed off cap space to get under the luxury tax, which they are still $20 million over the bill.

The long-term strategy here is get under the luxury tax while Jayson Tatum is rehabbing his Achilles injury so that they have more flexibility for 2027 and beyond.

Despite wanting to shed money, they want to retain Sam Hauser, who is on a four-year deal worth $45 million. Boston’s front office is only focusing on Simons, especially after trading away Kristaps Porzingis and Holiday.

Right now, it is unclear the level of interest teams have for the talented guard. It’s expected this will be an on-going situation throughout the offseason.