In this year's Eastern Conference Semi-Finals G4, Tatum's right Achilles tendon ruptured, and his recovery period is expected to be 9-12 months, which means he basically missed the 2025-26 season, and the Celtics's championship window was temporarily closed.

Even if Tatum was not injured, it was imperative for the Celtics to carry out a major purge.

First, the Celtics lost to the Knicks 2-4 in this year's Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and both of them encountered an outrageous situation of being reversed by 20 points at home. The "strongest five foreigners" in the 2023-24 season have lost their dominance this year. The Cavaliers, Pacers, and Knicks all have the strength and possibility to challenge the Celtics.

Secondly, the original lineup's total salary plus luxury tax is expected to exceed US$500 million, setting a record high in the NBA. If the transaction is not conducted, the situation of "spending the most expensive money and being beaten by the most poisonous" will happen to the Celtics.

Third, the two champions, Zhu Holiday and Platinum, declined too significantly in just one season. Holiday averaged only 9.5 points per game in the playoffs, and Platinum averaged only 15.5 minutes per game in the second round, and even fell out of rotation. Holiday has three years and 104 million contracts left, and Platinum has one year and 1 year and 30.73 million US dollars. Both of them have become the team's high-paying and low-powered negative assets in the playoffs this year.

Tatum's injury is only the fuse for the Celtics' reshuffle. The essential reason is that the total expenditure of salary + luxury tax is expected to exceed 500 million in the next season, forcing the new boss to stop losses in time.

Stevens took decisive action and cleared Holiday with lightning speed.

Although Holiday is a double champion guard of the Bucks/Celtics with outstanding defensive value, he is always a point where the opponent's head coach has given priority to empty three-pointers when he is on the court: last season's regular season shooting percentage is 42.9%, the average three-point shooting percentage is 40.2%, this season's regular season 35.3%, and the playoffs 34.6%, the champion 3D guard Zhu Ge declined and no longer has stable space value.

Holiday is over 35 years old and has a 2+1 contract (the third year option of 37.2 million players), and an annual salary of at least 32.4 million in the next three years. Due to aging and large contracts, Brother Zhu has become a high-paying and low-powered negative asset in the team.

Stevens actually exchanged Ju Holiday for Anthony Simmons + 2 second round picks. The wonderful thing about this deal is that Anthony Simmons was carrying the last year expiration contract (27.7 million in one year). The Celtics successfully got rid of Holiday's three-year contract and saved 40 million in luxury tax next season!

Anfenny Simmons just turned 26 years old, and he and Zhu are completely two types of defenders. Simmons' offensive ability is far above Holiday. He can hold the ball as a developer + main attacker, filling Tatum's firepower output absent on the offensive end. We have reason to believe that the Brown + White + Simmons combination can still make it to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics also won two second round picks in this deal that can be used for future scraping prizes to tap the potential of substitutes. Even without these two second round picks, Simmons, who got rid of Holiday's long contract and introduced better offense and had a one-year contract, took into account both the present and the long-term. It can be said to be a stroke of magic.

The Celtics sent Porzingis away within 24 hours after seeing Holiday away, and the new boss's intention to cut expenses was obvious.

Porzingis was hit by an unknown virus this season, with an average of 19.5 points and a three-point shooting percentage of 41.2% in the regular season, and a 7.7 points and a three-point shooting percentage of 15.4% in the playoffs, which is completely different. He was once down from starting to substitute and even dropped out of rotation.

Porzingis was carrying a contract of 30.73 million in the last year, which made him more likely to take action than Holiday.

The Celtics gave Porzingis + 2026 second round pick (the one with the lower pick) in the three-party transaction, and exchanged for Nian + the second round pick from the Cavaliers. This transaction exchanged Porzingis' contract of 30.73 million next season for Nian's one-year expiration contract of 8.2 million, directly allowing the Celtics to avoid the restrictions on the second tyrant line.

The Celtics saved $238 million in spending after seeing Holiday and Porzingis away. Not only did Stevens not send out the first round as a "benefit fee" for helping to eat garbage, but he also got three second rounds in two transactions, as well as the two instant combat powers of Anthony Simmons and space shooter Nian, which was a huge profit!

The Celtics reduce total spending next season, retain the hope of the playoffs, and make the future salary space more flexible, Stevens makes a huge contribution.

The Celtics' situation next season is similar to that of the Warriors' 2019-20 season. Curry only played 5 games in the whole season, and the Warriors finally won 15 wins and 50 losses.

The Celtics temporarily closed the championship window due to a ruptured Achilles tendon of Tatum. The main task next season is to take a strategic rest and wait for Tatum to return healthy and continue to strive for the championship. Knowing that there is no hope of winning the championship, reducing luxury tax expenditure is undoubtedly the wisest choice. It is actually only a matter of time before Holiday and Porzingis, who are declining, are giving up. What is commendable is that Stevens has completed all this in the past 19 hours, and two unthinking "2K-style transactions" have cut the mess.

These two transactions are drastic rectification after the Celtics' crazy renewal of the championship after winning the championship. The original 500 million expenditure next season sounded the alarm. It was only a matter of time before the 2023-24 championship lineup disintegrated, so the previous boss also chose to cash out at a high point.

The team building model with an explosive salary is no longer acceptable. The core star + long rotation system of Pacers and Thunder has led the new team building trend.

As long as the three core players Tatum + Brown + White are still there, it is undoubtedly a more scientific, reasonable and acceptable team building concept around them, which is more scientific, reasonable and more accepted by NBA bosses. Compared with the past cases of violent spending of money by the Nets and the Suns, independent cultivation is more recognized by the times.

Cleaning up Holiday and Porzingis does not mean that the Celtics are disintegrated. This is the only way to reorganize the lineup structure. A strategic transition will be made next season, and the second-stage pattern around Tatum + Brown + White has just begun.

Just as the Thunder had Presti and the Celtics had Stevens there, we have reason to believe that Tatum and the Celtics would make a comeback.