The Boston Celtics have been among the most active teams this offseason, and it appears as though they aren't done making moves just yet.
While the trades involving Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis provided the franchise with much-needed salary cap relief, there is still more that Brad Stevens can do to lessen the financial burden the league's luxury tax could place on the franchise and the new ownership group.
That leads us to the latest reporting concerning which member of the roster, as it currently stands, should not get too comfortable with their surroundings in Boston.
Boston Celtics Reportedly Still Working Hard to Trade Anfernee Simons
The Celtics acquired Anfernee Simons from the Portland Trail Blazers in the deal that shipped Holiday from Boston back to Oregon in a straight swap. Initially, draft capital was also being sent to the Celtics, but that changed after issues with Holiday's physical after his arrival in Portland were enough to nullify the draft capital that was supposed to be sent to Boston.
With that lost draft capital potentially serving as their motivation, Brian Windhorst of ESPN stated on Wednesday's Hoop Collective Podcast that Boston is actively shopping the former first-round pick in hopes of rerouting Simons to another team.
"I have talked to other teams who have said they are actively trying to trade Anfernee Simons," Windorst said, via RealGM.com. "Whether they can or not is another [thing]."
Simons is a fine player and wouldn't hurt the Celtics if he were to be on the roster during the 2025-26 campaign, as Boston will need all the offensive help they can get with Tatum sidelined for, likely, the entire regular season.
However, his long-term fit with the Celtics is non-existent from a basketball perspective. Simons is a player who has been a volume shooter throughout his career. Since becoming a starter during the 2021-22 season, his shooting percentages from the field and beyond the arc have only decreased. To expect him to go from that to a player who can shoot an effective percentage from the field on far fewer attempts is an unrealistic ask.
For those reasons alone, getting whatever value the front office can out of Simons in a trade sooner rather than later makes the most sense for Stevens and company. Whether he can successfully do that is a different story.