Celtics reportedly trade Anfernee Simons to Bulls, acquire Vučević

With the NBA commerce deadline simply days away, Brad Stevens reportedly made his transfer to lighten Boston’s backcourt — and unlock some cash within the course of.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Celtics traded guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round decide to the Chicago Bulls in trade for middle  Nikola Vučević and a second-round decide.

Simons, acquired from Portland through the offseason as a part of the Jrue Vacation commerce, has been seen as a possible commerce candidate all season lengthy. 

Regardless of his profile as a gifted scorer, Simons’ expiring contract and hefty $27.7 million wage made him an asset that Boston might have flipped as both a cost-cutting measure or a method to bolster one other space of the roster.

Boston achieved each of these issues on Tuesday. Vučević — additionally set to be an unrestricted free agent on the finish of this season — instructions a decrease wage ($21.5 million) than Simons and addresses a necessity up entrance for the Celtics.

According to NBA cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Celtics at the moment are beneath the primary apron of the league’s restrictive luxury-tax construction and have lowered their tax penalty from $39.5 million to $17.7 million.

Vučević, a 35-year-old middle from Montenegro, has been a productive participant for years, averaging 16.9 factors, 9.0 rebounds, and three.8 assists per sport this season with Chicago. For his profession, he has averaged 17.2 factors and 10.4 rebounds per sport. 

Vučević stands as an improve to a Boston frontcourt that has at the moment been anchored by Neemias Queta and Luka Garza. 

Simons was put in a brand new function this season with Boston, primarily coming off the bench after beginning for years with the Path Blazers. However the 26-year-old guard embraced his new function, averaging 14.2 factors over simply 26.6 minutes per sport.

Chatting with the Boston Herald last week, Simons acknowledged the character of the enterprise on the subject of the NBA commerce deadline. 

“I really feel like if you get used to it, if you’ve been within the league eight years, the commerce rumors change into fixed,” Simons stated Thursday. “Quite a lot of them may very well be true. Quite a lot of them, more often than not, aren’t true. So that you’ve simply obtained to regulate what you’ll be able to management and go on the market and play — play for the workforce and proceed to attempt to go on the market and get a win.”

 

Conor Ryan is a workers author masking the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Pink Sox for Boston.com, a job he has held since 2023.