The Boston Celtics made their long-awaited trade for a big man on Tuesday, landing Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls in a swap that included Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick from each franchise.
As HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reports, Vucevic was actually Plan B to Jaren Jackson Jr., with Boston only circling back to the Bulls on Vucevic after they lowered their price.
"The Celtics previously proposed Anfernee Simons, a first-round pick, and a future first-round pick swap for Clippers center Ivica Zubac and salary filler, which the Clippers declined, sources said. Boston also inquired on Jaren Jackson Jr. Instead, Boston lands Nikola Vucevic," Scotto wrote.
As first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, the Memphis Grizzlies sent Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale, and Vince Williams Jr. to the Utah Jazz for Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, and three future first-round picks just hours before the Vucevic trade was announced. ESPN's Shams Charania.
Ultimately, the price for Jackson was steep, leading the Celtics to choose to pivot to Vucevic instead. What this means for the second half of the season, as well as the time between now and Thursday afternoon's deadline, is up for interpretation, though.
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Simons was an indispensable part of Joe Mazzulla's rotation. Over his seven months with the Celtics, Simons steadily improved defensively. Offensively, he provided the roster with what it needed without Jayson Tatum in the lineup, scoring punch off the bench that wasn't too much of a liability on defense to be trusted on the floor.
Now that Simons is gone, and Brad Stevens has been revealed to have an interest in a massive swing involving Jackson, it isn't out of the question to think that Boston is, at the very least, preparing for a scenario where the team remains in the thick of the playoff picture, and Tatum is cleared to return to the floor.
Vucevic doesn't take the ball out of Tatum's hands. If anything, he can resemble an Al Horford/Kristaps Porzingis hybrid who's just as, if not more, effective in pick-and-pop situations as the aforementioned big men. He'll fit seamlessly with Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Co., and could even play alongside Neemias Queta in big lineups because of his spacing. Vucevic is shooting 37 percent from the 3-point line this season, but converted on over 40 percent of his attempts in 2024-25.
Simons was there to bridge the gap to Tatum, but he was never going to be part of the long-term plan in Beantown. Guys with the skills Simons possesses want the ball, and Boston will have too many cooks in the kitchen to offer him that luxury when the Celtics are at full strength.
The gap has been bridged. While it is still too early to tell whether Tatum suits up this season, it hasn't officially been ruled out. That, in and of itself, coupled with the success this group has had under Jaylen Brown's leadership, is reason for fans to have hope.
As noted above, a Simons trade has seemed likely since the day he was acquired this past summer. If Stevens and the rest of the Celtics' brass were convinced that Tatum had no chance at taking the floor during the 2025-26 campaign, there would've been other deals to make that would've cut the tax bill more than this trade did.
One thing appears to be certain, though, Boston does not plan on going quietly into the night during the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season campaign.