The Boston Celtics have swung multiple trades in the past week, with veterans Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday being shipped out of town in moves designed to cut into the franchise's cap number for the 2025-26 campaign.
While the moves did alleviate some of the stress that Brad Stevens and the front office were feeling after being faced with a roster that could have cost upwards of $500 million after including luxury tax penalties, Boston acquired some talent as well in these deals. It wasn't just salary cap relief.
One of the players shipped to the Celtics this past week might not want to get too comfortable in Boston, as reports indicate that the possibility of the guard being re-routed yet again this summer is quite real.
Anfernee Simons May Be Gone Before His Boston Career Starts per Latest Report
Anfernee Simons was the biggest piece to come back to Boston in the trade that returned Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers. While Simons is a fine player, he was never going to be a piece of the puzzle once Jayson Tatum returns from injury and the franchise is ready to contend for titles again.
With that being the case, it isn't overly surprising to see Jay King of The Athletic report that Stevens and the front office are seeing the options that would be there if Simons were made available. The idea behind this decision is to free up enough money to retain veteran big men Al Horford and Luke Kornet.
"Looking to continue shedding salary, the Celtics have explored the idea of flipping Simons’ $27.7 million expiring contract, according to league sources. In such a move, they would be aiming to accomplish two organizational directives Brad Stevens emphasized after the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday: regaining more roster flexibility and setting up a path to retain free agents Luke Kornet and Al Horford."
Not having to look outside of the locker room for frontcourt players capable of fulfilling the roles needed in Boston would be a huge win for Stevens, and he appears to be open to that idea, if it is attainable.
What happens with Horford and Kornet, as well as Simons for that matter, is anyone's guess at this point. If the Celtics want both to return that badly, though, Stevens should be able to figure out some way to make it happen.