Trade rumors aren’t anything new for Boston Celtics shooting guard Anfernee Simons.
The 2018 first-round pick was only acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers less than two months ago, when Boston sent two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday out west.
With the Celtics still facing financial uncertainty and a possible one-year break from contention while Jayson Tatum recovers, Simons’ spot on the roster seems uneven.
NBC Sports Boston media editor Josh Canu floated a new trade proposal involving Simons on Wednesday, an idea that would send the 26-year-old to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for center Nikola Vucevic.
“Both players are on expiring contracts, the Bulls get a younger player, and the Celtics get a starting center and some cap relief as well. Not the sexiest move, but a move that works and is attainable,” Canu wrote.
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Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has already shown that he’s not afraid to trade away recently acquired players.
Power forward Georges Niang was sent to Boston in early July as part of a three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks. Niang was then shipped along with a pair of future draft picks to the Utah Jazz in early August for undrafted rookie RJ Luis Jr.
With the Celtics still roughly $12 million from clearing the luxury tax, a Simons-for-Vucevic transaction would save some money and give the team a much-needed big man.
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Boston said goodbye to all of its big minutes centers from last season this summer, including Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and almost certainly, Al Horford.
Vucevic will turn 35 in October, but still averaged a double-double for the seventh straight season in 2024-25.
The two-time All-Star finished his fourth full campaign with the Bulls posting 18.5 points per game (his highest mark in four years), as well as 10.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 31.2 minutes per contest. Vucevic also shot a career-best 53.0% from the field last season and career-high 40.2% from beyond the arc.
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