The Boston Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league for three years in a row. This season, they are six games ahead of second place in the Eastern Conference and are in first place. The green team is on a roll and should be the title favourites as long as their top six players are still around.

Why then do we need to talk about trades?

Howard Beck of The Ringer says that a good pay cap fix could be coming for a number of top teams. Next season will be the first full season under the new CBA. Teams that pay more than the second salary cap will be punished harshly. There are new rules that make it harder to build a team, such as not being able to use free agents or combine salaries in deals. Also, if a team stays over the line for three out of five years, their future first-round picks will be frozen and moved to the end of the round.

This year, the Celtics are above that apron, and they expect to stay that way for a while. Luckily, there is a “bonus” season this year before those fines start to count.

But from now on, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens will have to balance the team’s desire for a title with its fear of future punishments.

A lot of teams would want to keep Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White, even if they win the title, Beck wrote. “Will they have to get rid of a good supporting player like Holiday?”

Most likely, the answer to Beck’s question is “no.” This year, Holiday makes about $35 million, and he has a player option worth $37 million for next season. Most likely, he will turn down that option in favour of a contract increase worth about $30 million a year for two or three seasons. I believe Boston would be happy to pay that much for their defence star. Also, that deal could be changed if management thought there was a better job coming up in the future.

That maths could be wrong in a few different situations. If Holiday wants more than that, he will probably have to leave. He can either decline his player option and become a free agent, or he can choose to stay with the team without an extension plan, which would likely cause Boston to look for a trade partner. So far, the only thing we’ve heard from Holiday is that he wants to get an extension. Hope all goes well.

If the Celtics lose in the playoffs, they might try something different with Holiday. Anyone getting hurt would have to mess up for it to be clear that this wasn’t a title team. Not possible.

A person in charge in the NBA told Beck that Boston needs to “figure out who’s expendable and who’s not.”

I answer, “not yet.”

It’s not impossible for the Celtics to run it again next year. If Jaylen Brown signs a contract, Boston’s cap number will go through the roof. However, that will only make it harder to sign higher-paid free agents and move players in the middle of the season. When a team has a strong squad, they don’t need to do that much.

Luke Kornet, Svi Mykhailiuk, Xavier Tillman, Oshae Brissett (player option), and Holiday are the only Boston players who could leave as free agents this summer. Holiday is the only one of those guys who is important to the cycle.

Not yet, so don’t think about whether Holiday is “expendable.” This team is great, and they shouldn’t lose again until at least next season.

But Beck also said, with the help of a Western Conference official, that Boston will likely try to get rid of Jaylen Brown soon.

“Seeing as Boston is in first place, no one thinks Brown will be moved this summer,” Beck said. “But the Celtics will have to face the new CBA’s financial realities at some point.”

It’s hard to say because Jaylen Brown is a big reason why Boston is in the running for the title. If you take him off the Celtics, they wouldn’t be able to make enough shots, defend well enough on the wings, or have enough skill to win the championship.

Now, let’s go on vacation in 2025. The Celtics may have won Banner 18 (or 19), which is something they’ve been trying to do for a long time but haven’t been able to do. At age 39, Al Horford is ending an amazing career. He leaves a big hole in Boston’s frontcourt that won’t be easy to fill. Boston has to decide how much money to give Derrick White, who is likely worth more after two years of being close to being an All-Star. Holiday is 35 years old and has one year left on his contract.

Now think about the fact that Tatum’s supermax contract will begin that season. His, Brown’s, and Porzingis’s pay will add up to about $140 million, which is close to the salary cap.

At that point, it will be very hard to fill out the rest of the squad. The Celtics won’t have to move Brown to field a team, but they won’t be able to keep everyone. You can begin to understand what Beck’s sources mean.

“Jaylen would set the record for the biggest return,” a company official told The Ringer if they decide to trade Brown. “It should be like how Durant did it.”

A little over a year ago, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, and four first-round picks were dealt for Kevin Durant. With that kind of return, Boston would stay in the game while saving money and getting a lot of picks.

To say it again, it’s too early to think about such a big deal. We should all think about the team’s cap prospects, just like Brad Stevens does.