The Celtics have not officially acquired Anfernee Simons yet after dealing Jrue Holiday to Portland for two second-round picks and the point guard last week. Whether Simons will officially become a member of the Celtics remains an open question as the team continues to explore trade possibilities this week, including some involving the point guard, as MassLive reported earlier this week.
Boston is looking at finding ways to trim salary to retool the roster and maintain flexibility to retain Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency. Simons is a clear candidate to look at for help on the cost-cutting front since he is set to make $27.7 million next season.
What types of deals could be out there for Boston with Simons if the team elects to pivot with their new addition for some additional assets or cost savings? Let’s explore a few teams where a fit is conceivable.
Salary matching
The Celtics would undoubtedly be looking to trim salary in any Simons deal, much like they did in the Holiday deal initially. Barring the Nets being willing to take some excess salary on with their cap room for an asset (like they did in the Kristaps Porzingis trade with Terrence Mann), the team taking on Simons in any deal will need to send out at least $22.08 million in salary to satisfy NBA trade rules.
For that reason, moving Simons will be a bigger challenge than moving a player like Sam Hauser or Georges Niang potentially since those guys have smaller salaries that can fit into plenty of trade exceptions or mid-level exceptions around the league with no salary needing to come back to Boston in a hypothetical deal.
So what types of deals could be out there for Boston with Simons if they decide to move him?
Bucks: They have a pair of movable contracts in Bobby Portis (if he opts in) and Pat Connaughton. However, retaining Portis is probably a priority if they are losing Brook Lopez, so don’t see this one happening.
Bulls: Tons of expiring contracts here that could be moved in any deal (Kevin Huerter/Jevon Carter/Zach Collins/Coby White). Part of their glut in the backcourt got cleared up with the Lonzo Ball trade on Saturday, but unclear whether they would be in the market for another guard.
Heat: Duncan Robinson is an expiring contract worth $19 million, so a smaller salary and him would work for Simons. Miami could use another guard if they are moving on from Terry Rozier in a separate deal.
Hornets: Backup point guard Tre Mann is a free agent and there are some tradable salaries across the roster, although none would be particularly appealing to Boston beyond the cost savings (Jusuf Nurkic). Josh Green, Grant Williams, and Josh Okogie are all other potential movable salaries.
Wizards: The Marcus Smart reunion play is probably available. Smart earns $21.5 million, so the Wizards would have to add a little more to a potential deal to make the math work.
Lakers: They have bigger holes to fill than backup point guard (see: center) but the math could work in a Gabe Vincent/Maxi Kleber or Jarred Vanderbilt trade.
Clippers: Bogdan Bogdanovic and Devin Eubanks is a deal that would get pretty close to the necessary money needed for salary matching in a trade. Whether the Clippers would prefer Simons over Bogdanovic is the bigger question.
Warriors: Hard to foresee this one since the Warriors have a bunch of cheaper guards and Stephen Curry.
Kings: A true wildcard team with so many guys on the trade market from their rotation. If new general manager Scott Perry is a fan of Simons, Sacramento has plenty of movable players
Jazz: Another team with plenty of expiring contracts that could help Boston trim some salary. Jordan Clarkson and KJ Martin would work for money matching purposes. The same is also true for Colin Sexton, and one more cheap deal for Simons. Not sure Utah wants to be bringing in Simons after drafting a couple of ballhandlers in Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. in the first round.
Final thoughts
The trade landscape around the league could change in the coming hours or days and impact this list, but there aren’t a lot of clear-cut destinations for Simons around the league right now due to his salary and the depth of the point guard position. The Celtics like Simons and have other options across the roster to potentially deal to reduce salary, but Simons’ hefty salary makes him an obvious candidate on this front.
Stevens has been creative so far this offseason in acquiring assets and moving off salary in deals involving Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. He’ll need to do so again in a hypothetical Simons deal, potentially with one of the teams on this list.