4 most over and underpaid Celtics on next season’s roster

Fresh off winning their first NBA championship since 2008, the Boston Celtics have locked down many of the core pieces that made their Final run possible.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are locked down for the long haul on historically large contracts, but they've made space to re-sign solid role players like Jrue Holiday and Derrick White to longer deals as well; meaning the Celtics should be a force to reckon with for years to come.

All of these players were deemed essential and if it delivers another championship it will be worth the cost. But given the massive extensions given to all of their significant players, it's easy to identify some individuals who may be over or underpaid based purely on their salaries and production.

Underpaid: Derrick White

Since being traded to the Celtics back in 2022, no player has been more pivotal in raising the team's ceiling than Derrick White. He took over from Marcus Smart as the starting point guard last season and delivered the best season of his career, playing fantastic defense while averaging 15.2 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.

The 30-year-old guard signed a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension earlier this summer after the Celtics reached the mountaintop and won another championship. White's performance throughout the regular and postseason suggests that he is underpaid, given his production on the court.

He was pivotal to the Celtics' Finals run in 2022 and 2024 when he had moments of brilliance carrying the scoring load in moments when Tatum and Brown didn't have it going. He finished eighth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and notched the second-team all-defense.

White has shown that he can step up when his number is called, making him a steal for the Celtics on his contract.

Overpaid: Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis was integral to the Boston Celtics championship run in the 2023-24 season. He averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds during the regular season. Despite his stellar play, you make the case the Latvian big man is overpaid due to his injury history.

Porzingis signed a two-year contract extension for $60 million on top of his already sketchy contract ... keeping him with the Boston Celtics until 2026.

Despite his solid play, Porzingis has only played 65 or more games in three seasons in his entire career. He also appeared in only seven playoff games due to a dislocation in his left tendon and suffered a torn medial retinaculum injury in the NBA Finals. He underwent offseason surgery and it's not clear how healthy he'll be at the beginning of the season.

Since Porizingis will be turning 30 next year, the Celtics must be wary of giving Porzingis another major contract.

Overpaid: Jayson Tatum

It might be a stretch to say that Jayson Tatum is overpaid, especially considering his significant contributions over the years for the Celtics. However, based simply on his production in the postseason he may be making more than he's worth in a vacuum.

Tatum signed a $315 million contract extension earlier this summer and is set to make close to $60 million a year. That's a historically large contract for a player who deferred to Jaylen Brown and other Celtics throughout the postseason as the primary scorer.

Tatum is an exceptional player and has built up a strong case to be a top-five player in the regular season, averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists. But he's a tier below players like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo in terms of individual impact and his enormous struggles in the Olympics only raised more questions about whether he deserves to be the highest-paid player in the NBA.

Overpaid: Jrue Holiday

Some can argue that Jrue Holiday's addition is what put this Celtic team above the rest in the Eastern Conference after the Celtics shipped Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies. His champion experience along with his defense served as the missing ingredient to the Celtics' champions run.

However, considering Holiday's age and a slight dip in production from his time in Milwaukee to Boston, you can make the case that he is overpaid. Holiday is currently on a four-year, $135 million contract. He will be 38 by the end of the agreement and even if the Celtics win another title that's almost certainly going to end with him making far more than he's worth.

The Celtics could potentially get the same level of production from a younger player that the fits their timeline with both and Tatum and Brown now entering their prime.