NBA Exec Gives Update on Celtics’ Anfernee Simons Situation

When the Celtics trade Jrue Holiday back to Portland last month, they got one player–scoring guard Anfernee Simons–in return, but adding Simons created more options for the team. He is just 26 years old, after all, and though his contract is not cheap, there is only one year and $26 million left on the deal.

The belief around the NBA is that the Celtics will look to deal away Simons, that he is not part of the long-term plan for the Celtics when they get Jayson Tatum back after he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon next season.

But the belief, too, is that Boston is in no hurry to make a deal happen. “You never know, but the team they have now is probably the team they’ll start the year with,” one GM said. “They could get themselves involved in some blockbuster. But they’re not in a hurry to make that move (on Simons).”

Celtics Looking to Create More Flexibility

Of course, the Celtics are just below the NBA’s second apron on the luxury tax, and they’d like to be much more comfortably below it. But the fact is, they do not need to get below it before the season starts–they can make it happen during the season, too.

The belief is that Simons can boost his trade value in the coming months. Portland has been trying to trade Simons for the better part of the past year and a half, despite having committed $100 million to him. Portland was disappointed in Simons’ inability to bolster other parts of his game beyond scoring.

Anfernee Simons Could Improve

Maybe that can happen with the Celtics.

“He is going to a team with a different coaching staff, a different front office, a whole different system of teaching,” the GM said. “Sometimes a situation changes and the light bulb goes on for a guy. That could be the case with him (Simons). He is still  a young guy, and if he is willing to learn, he could come out a better player.

“So you wait to trade him to see if that happens.”

Simons averaged 19.3 points and 4.8 assists last season, and is a career 38.1% 3-point shooter. If another team has an injury or finds itself a scorer away from contending, the Celtics can step in with a player at the ready via trade.

Trades Weaken Celtics Roster

The Celtics won’t be a terrible team next year, but they needed to deal off Kristaps Porzingis and Holiday, two key components of the 2024 NBA championship team, to get the payroll back in order. They let center Luke Kornet leave in free agency (San Antonio) and are on the brink of doing the same with Al Horford.

“We’ve known for a long time that hard decisions were coming,” Stevens said Tuesday on the decisions to trade both Holiday and Porzingis, which both became official this week. “The second apron is why those trades happened. I think that is pretty obvious. And the basketball penalties associated with those are real. …

“So that was part of making the decision to push and put our chips on the table and go for the last two years.”

Simons figures to be next, eventually. But it is not likely to happen until the season is rolling.