Celtics Make Deadline Day Decision on Sam Hauser's Team Option

Bobby Krivitsky | Jun 29, 2024

Jun 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) shoots the ball against Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum (0) during the third quarter in game two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Sam Hauser has consistently improved throughout his three years in the NBA. It's taken him from an undrafted free agent out of the University of Virginia to a fixture in the NBA's most talented rotation.

The six-foot-eight sharpshooter produced 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and buried 42.4% of the 5.9 threes he hoisted. He also repeatedly proved it's a mistake to try to target him on defense, demonstrating the upper-body strength, mobility, and IQ to give even Luka Doncic trouble when switching on to him during the NBA Finals.

After helping the Celtics secure Banner 18, Saturday marked the deadline to pick up his $2.1 million team option.

When asked after the draft concluded on Thursday night if the Celtics had already decided what to do with the Wisconsin native's club option and if drafting another marksman in Baylor Scheierman could impact a potential extension with Hauser, the organization's president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, conveyed the following to Inside The Celtics.

"I'm not gonna get into the particulars with what decisions we'll make with each guy and their contracts, but I will say we want Hauser to be here for a long time."

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Declining Hauser's team option would have made him a restricted-free agent. Perhaps the hope in that scenario would have been for that status to lead to saving money on an extension with the 26-year-old forward.

Instead, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, the Celtics picked up his club option and can now work on an extension worth up to $78 million over four years, knowing he's already under contract for the 2024-25 campaign.

Further Reading

Brad Stevens Discusses Sam Hauser's Future with Celtics

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