Boston opens preseason Thursday at 0-0, with no possessions yet to measure. What is already fixed - payroll, apron room, individual marks from last season and the age spread on the roster - frames the year before a single shot goes up.
Boston sits past one payroll line with room before the next.
Boston carries $203.9 million in salary, $3.5 million past the $200.4 million tax threshold but short of the $209.0 million first apron. Tatum's $58.5 million and George's $54.1 million account for more than half that figure. The number limits roster flexibility now. It does not yet trigger the harsher penalties tied to the apron above it.
Payton Pritchard's full season sets the bar he is now asked to clear again.
Pritchard played all 79 games last season, shooting 37.7 percent from three on 17.0 points a night, both career marks. He is now asked to carry more of the scoring load with a starting five that no longer includes last season's top perimeter threat. Durability is one data point. It says nothing about usage under a different group around him.
The roster spans nineteen years of professional experience at its extremes.
Mike Conley opens his 19th season at 38, the oldest player on the roster. Chris Cenac Jr., 19, enters his first. Between those two sit veterans like Tatum and George, each with nine-plus years of experience. The spread is a roster-construction choice, not a promise of chemistry once games start.
Three other franchises already hold a claim on Boston's future second-rounders.
San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Brooklyn are each owed a second-round pick across the next four drafts, while Boston keeps its own first-rounders in 2027 and 2030 outright, plus swap rights in 2027 and 2029. The tally reflects the cost of past moves, not a forecast of where those picks will land in the order.
Is Boston over the luxury tax this season?
Yes. The roster's $203.9 million payroll sits $3.5 million above the $200.4 million tax threshold, though it remains under the $209.0 million first apron.
When does Boston's regular season start?
October 20 at the Pistons, after four preseason games that include two meetings with Philadelphia.
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