If Sam Hauser does not sign a contract extension with the Boston Celtics, he will become an unrestricted free agency the following summer. Since joining the organization in 2021, the undrafted sharpshooter has been a Brad Stevens era success story. Hauser got a full-time contract after agreeing to a two-way contract with Boston, established himself in the rotation, and assisted in the Celtics’ championship run the previous season.
An extension for Hauser is trickier than it seems because Boston is a second-apron luxury tax team and is expected to pay the repeater tax. An $8 million contract extension for the shooter would cost Boston more than $60 million in fines, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Hauser would probably fetch over $8 million as well. “By exercising his $2 million team option this offseason, Hauser could be an unrestricted free agent without an extension,” Marks stated. “…Because Boston is a repeater tax team next year and the NBA is set to implement more stringent penalties, a new contract for Hauser starting at $8 million adds over $60 million in tax penalties.”
Hauser averaged nine points, 3.5 rebounds, and an assist per game while playing in 79 regular-season games the previous season. He became one of the NBA’s top floor-spacing role players with a perimeter shooting percentage of 42.4%. His postseason performances were solid, as he continued to build his name, making threes at a clip of 38%.
Hauser has also established himself as a superior defender since joining the league. Every defensive assignment handed at him, he’s handled it and held his own in Joe Mazzulla’s complex and powerful system. If Hauser becomes available as a free agency, there will be many teams in contention that are eager to sign him. However, Hauser may stay with the Celtics in the future, per a story published on June 18 by John Hollinger of The Athletic.
“Hauser has one year left for the minimum, on a team option, and will be extension-eligible this summer; he’s about to get more expensive, but Boston sees him as a keeper,” Hollinger stated.
Stevens has demonstrated his dedication to roster consistency since the beginning of the offseason by extending or re-signing a sizable chunk of the championship-winning rotation. There is no denying Hauser’s importance to Mazzulla’s system. An extension is probably in the works if the Celtics agree to absorb the tax penalty. But Boston might decide to try its luck in free agency now that Baylor Scheierman has been added to the team in the NBA Draft. The Celtics must make a difficult choice regarding Hauser’s future. His excellent play has earned him a wage increase. He is a former NBA player. Additionally, he is among the NBA’s top movement shooters.
But given the financial toll an extension would take on the Celtics’ cap sheet, it’s possible that this is his final season with the team that helped launch his NBA career.
