Celtics reportedly sign Sam Hauser to four-year contract extension – Boston Herald

Boston, MA – October 2: Sam Hauser poses for a photo during Celtics Media Day. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

First Derrick White. Then Jayson Tatum. Now Sam Hauser.

The Celtics signed another 2024 champion on Sunday, signing reserve forward Sam Hauser to a four-year, $45 million contract.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report on Hauser’s deal.

Hauser was set to return for the 2024-25 season after Boston picked up his $2.1 million team option last month. His new contract begins in 2025 and runs through the 2028-29 season.

The 26-year-old Hauser joined the Celtics as an undrafted rookie in 2021 and has developed into one of their top bench players, appearing in 79 regular-season games and all 19 playoff games last season, setting career highs in most statistical categories.

His biggest asset is his 3-point shooting. Hauser’s 42.4% shooting percentage from three in 2023-24 ranked 11th in the NBA and seventh among players who averaged at least five 3-point attempts per game.

Hauser shot 44.6 percent from the field and averaged 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. The Virginia product struggled at times during Boston’s playoff run — most notably in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he went 1-of-14 from deep — but he rebounded in the NBA Finals, making 47.8 percent of his three-pointers in the five-game win over Dallas while defending surprisingly competitively against Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.

In the weeks between the NBA Finals and Hauser’s new deal, the Celtics finalized long-term extensions for White (four years, $125.9 million) and Tatum (five years, $314 million), with the latter eclipsing Jaylen Brown’s 2023 mega-deal as the richest contract in league history. They also re-signed reserves Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman, and brought back deep reserves J.D. Davison and Drew Peterson to two-way contracts.

Players from last year’s team occupy 13 of the 15 spots on Boston’s current roster, with first-round rookie Baylor Scheierman the only new addition and the final spot currently vacant. Only Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk are not returning.

Hauser’s extension also means that seven of the eight members of the Celtics’ core playoff rotation (Tatum, White, Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Payton Pritchard and Hauser) are now under contract for at least two more seasons. The lone exception is the 38-year-old Horford, who is entering the final season of a two-year, $19.5 million contract.

That continuity will come at a price, however. While they may be able to avoid steep financial penalties next season, the 2025-26 Celtics are on track to become the most expensive roster in NBA history, with $225 million in salaries plus more than $210 million in luxury taxes.