And for the Celtics, with a hefty tax bill created by the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to penalize teams with payrolls the size of the Celtics, there may not be much in the way of trade action to speak of besides trimming the cost of the roster. But that doesn’t mean that league experts like Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale have not tried to determine which of Boston’s players are truly off-limits in any hypothetical trades.

Per Favale, for the Celtics, only two players on the team are safe beyond any doubt — superstar forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

“Second-apron realities will inevitably necessitate wholesale recalibration. It isn’t—and shouldn’t—be coming smack-dab in the middle of a very-much-alive title defense,” writes Favale.