No Celtics player has appeared in more trade rumors this season than Anfernee Simons.
Immediately after Boston acquired Simons in the July trade that sent Jrue Holiday to Portland, there was speculation that it could look to flip him and his $27.7 million expiring contract in a subsequent deal. For six months, those murmurs have persisted, with Simons often mentioned as a player the Celtics could move to acquire frontcourt help, lower their luxury tax bill or both.
On Thursday — one week out from the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline — NBA on Prime insider Chris Haynes reported the 26-year-old guard “is someone who is on the trade market.”
How does Simons, who’s been a valuable sixth man in his first season on Causeway Street, react to those rumors?
“I feel like when you get used to it, when you’ve been in the league eight years, the trade rumors become constant,” Simons said Thursday after participating in the Celtics’ “Fit for a Cause” community event at the Auerbach Center. “A lot of them could be true. A lot of them, most of the time, aren’t true. So you’ve just got to control what you can control and go out there and play — play for the team and continue to try to go out there and get a win.”
Though his raw numbers are down from his time in Portland, where he started more than 200 games over the previous four seasons, Simons has been effective in his reduced role for Boston. He’s averaging 20.5 points per 36 minutes while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range and showing significant improvement as a defender.
Only Minnesota’s Naz Reid and Miami’s Jaime Jacquez Jr. have scored more points off the bench this season than Simons, and no bench player has made more 3-pointers.
Since the start of December, Simons ranks third among Celtics players in total plus/minus (trailing only Derrick White and rookie Hugo Gonzalez) and fourth in net rating. He’s also the only player on Boston’s roster who has appeared in every game so far this season.
Had the Celtics been less competitive as a team this season, or Simons proved to be a poor fit for head coach Joe Mazzulla’s system, offloading him at the deadline simply to clear his salary from Boston’s books would have been a logical plan. But now, with the C’s looking like true contenders in the Eastern Conference and Simons playing well, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens could be more reluctant to deal him.
A Simons trade remains possible, however, especially if the Celtics want to add an established, starting-caliber big man to fortify their center rotation. (Though starter Neemias Queta and backup Luka Garza both have exceeded expectations, Boston has been linked to a slew of potentially available bigs.)
The Celtics’ plan for Simons beyond this season is another variable, as he’s set to hit free agency this summer. Boston’s expectations for Jayson Tatum, who reportedly is unsure whether he’ll return from Achilles surgery this season, also could influence Stevens’ trade-deadline approach.
Off the court, Simons said he’s felt “very comfortable” in Boston after playing his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers.
“It feels like I’ve been here no longer than I actually have been here,” he said. “It’s just a family-type organization, and I feel like it feels very comforting when you come into a new situation and everybody’s wrapping their arms around you and making you feel welcome.”
