Celtics’ Paul George turns down $3.9 million trade bonus

According to a report from ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Paul George has waived his $3.9 million trade bonus.

George, who has been traded three times and is set to play for his fifth different NBA franchise this offseason, had a clause in his contract that would have given him a pay raise if he was traded.

He has opted not to take the extra money, keeping his salary cap hit at $54.1 million for next season. Other stars, including James Harden and Anthony Davis, have either turned down or reduced trade bonuses in recent years, Marks said.

The Celtics, roughly $30 million over the salary cap, could use some cap relief. According to Spotrac, they have $25 million in space before they’ll hit the first luxury tax apron.

Boston has gone into the second apron recently, but staying out of it appears to be a priority because it would incur steep basketball penalties designed specifically for “repeaters.”

The second-apron basketball penalties, which are so severe that Wyc Grousbeck predicted no team over the next 40 years would be able to withstand them for longer than two seasons in a row, include the following:

• Not being able to use cash in trades
• Not being able to trade first-round picks seven years out
• Not being able to execute sign-and-trade deals that keep the team over the cap
• Having their first round pick automatically move to the end of the round if they’ve been in the second apron three out of five years

The Celtics traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis last offseason as part of their efforts to get out of the second apron.

Plus, during their joint press conference at the Auerbach Center on Monday, Brad Stevens and Bill Chisholm justified the Jaylen Brown trade by saying that having two players take up 70 percent of the salary cap was unsustainable in the long term.

Chisholm was asked what he would say to fans who point out that the Celtics have traded several stars for salary cap/luxury tax relief since his investment group bought the team last year. The Celtics have now jettisoned three of the five starters from the 2024 championship team.

“Every decision that was made, the prior decisions, I should say those are basketball-related decisions. We would have gutted the team for the future had we not done those things,” he said. “The second apron is a real thing and I know you know that. Those are not about the money, those are basketball decisions.”

By turning down his trade bonus, George’s cap hit will be $54.1 million next season instead of the $57.7 million maximum and the Celtics get a little more room to operate as they look to rebuild in the aftermath of the Brown trade.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.