Celtics roster outlook: Breaking down the big men
Trade rumors for Kristaps Porzingis. Free agency for Al Horford. What does the future hold for Boston's bigs?
Welcome to Boston.com’s three-part Celtics roster series, where we look at how things went in 2025 and what lies ahead for 2026. This is part one, focused on the big men. There will be future posts on guards and wings.
Al Horford
Contract status: Free agent
Role: Top reserve/spot starter
Notes on 2025: Horford hits free agency this summer as the Celtics find themselves in an unfavorable luxury tax situation.
At age 39, he remains a valuable rotation piece. He helps the Celtics stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting, though the 36.3 percent he shot this year was his lowest mark since 2022. He grabbed 6.2 rebounds per game. He’s still an above-average defender, particularly from 10 feet and in where opponents shot 5.9 percent worse against him than average.
He wound up starting most of the games (42) during the regular-season as Kristaps Porzingis recovered from offseason ankle surgery and dealt with a viral illness. That number is up from last year’s total starts (33).
Horford shot a career-low 42 percent from the field this season, but his numbers from the field and 3-point range were both better in the postseason.
Those stats, along with the five blocks he had in Game 4 of the first-round against Orlando, show that Horford is still capable of raising his game in the playoffs.
Outlook for 2026: Horford said last month that it was too early to talk about his future. He reportedly intends to keep playing next season.
The question is whether or not the Celtics will have the be able to keep him as they look to get out from under the second apron.
He just finished a two-year $19.5 million deal. He earned $9.5 million last season, which is slightly above the league average according to Basketball Reference.
Luke Kornet
Contract status: Free agent
Role: Reserve
Notes on 2025: This was a big year for Kornet. He is coming off of his best season in a Celtics uniform.
He averaged career-highs in games played (73), starts (16) minutes (18.6), rebounds (5.3), and assists (1.6). He scored 6 points per game and shot 66.8 percent from the field.
Kornet has developed into reliable backup big man who sticks to his role. His celebrations and humous remarks in postgame interviews have resonated with fans.
He was an affordable option last year, but the way he played this year may have made him more expensive than he was before.
Outlook for 2026: Kornet was on a one-year, $2.1 million minimum deal last year. The Celtics probably aren’t going to be able to ge t him to return on a similar deal.
His price, after that 10-point, 9-rebound, 7-block performance against the Knicks in Game 5 of the second-round, has reportedly gone up.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that Kornet is expected to have a “robust market” among teams with the non-taxpayer midlevel exception to spend. The non-taxpayer MLE is worth up to $14.1 million next season.
The “substantial raise” that Kornet reportedly could be in line for is probably not in the Celtics’ budget as the team is already deep into the luxury tax for next year without Kornet’s salary factored in.
Kristaps Porzingis
Contract status: One-year remaining for $30.1 million
Role: Starter
Notes on 2025: Porzingis had an uneven 2025. He was, for most (42 games) of the regular-season, pretty close to his career averages.
He scored 19.1 points per game and averaged 6.8 rebounds. He shot 41.2 percent from 3-point range, and he pulled a number of those shots from deep beyond the line.
Offseason ankle surgery caused him to miss an extended amount of time at the beginning of the season. A viral illness kept him out for a stretch in the spring, then post-viral syndrome left him struggling to breathe during the playoffs. He looked like a shell of himself during the Knicks series, prompting even further questions about his reliability than there were before.
Outlook for 2026: Porzingis has been mentioned frequently in trade rumors because of his availability concerns and hefty salary. He is under contract, so the Celtics would have to find a trade partner and likely offer compensation for them to absorb his salary.
On the flip side, how many 7-foot-2, All-Star caliber centers who protect the rim and shoot as accurately from deep as he does are there? If you ever need an example of just how much he raises Boston’s ceiling, go rewatch Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals. The Celtics are a different team when he is healthy.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Celtics are focused on Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Sam Hauser for potential trades.
The Celtics are about $20 million over the second apron threshold. There are a variety of ways to get under it. It seems that the Celtics are exploring whether trading Porzingis is the right way to go about doing it.
Neemias Queta
Contract status: Two years remaining
Role: Reserve
Notes on 2025: The 25-year-old center got his busiest NBA workload year, appearing in 62 games and making six starts.
He’s an athletic player who is a lob threat, but opponents haven’t been afraid to test is rim protection skills. He’s not a floor spacer like Porzingis or Horford are.
His game centers around rebounding and making plays at the rim on both ends of the floor.
Joe Mazzulla’s rotation tightened during the playoffs, which is not an unusual thing. But, with Porzingis ailing and Horford beginning the Knicks series shooting 4-for-17 from the field, Queta still was unable to get on the floor much in key situations.
Outlook for 2026: Queta is relatively young player with upside on a cheap contract. Moving him doesn’t seem to make much sense at this time.
Xavier Tillman
Contract Status: One year remaining
Role: Reserve
Notes on 2025: Tillman’s minutes dropped from 13.7 per game after he was traded to the Celtics last year to seven minutes per game this year.
JD Davison and Jaden Springer were the only Celtics to average fewer minutes than Tillman this season. Springer was traded and Davison primarily played in the G-League, where he was MVP.
At 6-foot-7, Tillman is undersized for an NBA big man. He’s a career 25 percent shooter from 3-point range, though he did hit a clutch corner three in the 2024 NBA Finals.
Outlook for 2026: Tillman posted career-lows in minutes, games played, points, rebounds, assists, and blocks last season. It would take some significant change for him to make it back into the rotation.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com