The NBA season is rapidly approaching, with opening night less than a month away. One team that had a fascinating offseason was the Boston Celtics. After winning the NBA championship in 2024, the Celtics were eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs by the New York Knicks. The biggest story to come from that series, though, was Jayson Tatum tearing his right Achilles, which could sideline him for the upcoming season.
Once the offseason began, the Celtics were busy reducing the team's costs by trading away both Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, before losing Luke Kornet in free agency and Al Horford, who was not set to return. For fans of the Celtics, the team will look significantly different with four of the top six rotation players all gone from next year's roster. While they did bring in new players to fill some of the lost minutes, one of them won't be in Boston when the season ends.
Anfernee Simons Likely Won't Finish the Season in Boston
The first move that the Celtics made was trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Anfernee Simons. Simons had spent his entire seven-season career in Portland. Simons saw his breakout opportunity during the 2021-2022 season, in which he saw a jump from 7.8 points per game to 17.3 points per game. In the next two seasons, Simons became a 20-point-per-game scorer for the Trail Blazers.
Coming into the Celtics, Simons' role will be different, with him seemingly coming off the bench. Simons also isn't that good of a defender, which is something the Celtics care about. While Simons could be a fun player to watch during his time with the team, given his defensive woes and looming contract extension, the Celtics could look to move Simons at the deadline for cheaper players who are under contract longer.
While only time will tell how long a career Simons has with the Celtics, media and training camp are right around the corner, beginning on Monday, Sept. 29. The Celtics will kick off preseason play on the road, taking on the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, Oct. 8.