The Boston Celtics have been busy early on this offseason, as they recently traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. The Holiday deal yielded an intriguing piece in Anfernee Simons, but he could get traded away for one key reason involving Al Horford.
The Celtics traded away Holiday and Porzingis in an effort to get under the second apron of the NBA’s new salary cap, which they managed to do. However, they still aren’t under the luxury tax threshold, so moving Simons and his $27.7 million expiring contract could be something Brad Stevens and the front office consider doing.
Beyond that, Boston also has a pair of key free agents, Horford and fellow big man Luke Kornet, that they would like to re-sign. With that in mind, Simons’ name has reportedly begun to float around in trade talks as Stevens attempts to create cap space that could be used to bring both Horford and Kornet back to town.
“Looking to continue shedding salary, the Celtics have explored the idea of flipping Simons’ $27.7 million expiring contract, according to league sources,” Jay King of The Athletic reported.
“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.”
Story continues below advertisement
Simons averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game with the Portland Trail Blazers last offseason, and again, he’s on an expiring contract, so he could hold some value across the league.
Of course, the Celtics could simply opt to hold onto him, as he could help replace Jayson Tatum’s lost scoring production now that he’s set to miss the majority of the 2025-26 campaign after suffering a ruptured Achilles in the postseason.
If Boston wants to bring Horford and Kornet back, moving on from Simons presents them the best path to accomplish that. With the legal tampering period for free agency opening on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, though, it remains to be seen if Stevens can work his magic and swing another deal involving Simons in the coming days.