The Boston Celtics didn't wait until the trade deadline to make moves, shipping away guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for center Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick.
Bringing in Vucevic should help address the Celtics' biggest need, as Vucevic is a starting-caliber big that can rebound. For the season, Vucevic is averaging 16.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from 3-point land.
Roster-wise, Vucevic could easily slot in as the Celtics' starting center, but could come off the bench if head coach Joe Mazzulla prefers to keep Neemias Queta in the starting lineup. With Vucevic now on the roster, Luka Garza could see his role decrease, as he and Vucevic have more similar play styles than Queta and Vucevic.
While bringing in Vucevic helps fix the Celtics biggest need, Boston still has some work to do to improve the roster.
The Celtics Still Need to Add Depth to the Backcourt
Now that Anfernee Simons has been traded, the Celtics have opened up a need for a reserve guard. For the first half of the season, Simons has been the Celtics go-to scorer off the bench, a void the team will now have to fill. In the past few years, Payton Pritchard filled that role, but he is unlikely to return to being the team's 6th man.
Though Boston has some young bench players like Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman who could see an uptick in minutes, neither can fill the shot-creation role left by Simons' departure.
The best solution would be to look for another guy the team could trade for, with the other avenue being on the buyout market, which, because the trade got the Celtics below the first-apron, is something the Celtics can better utilize. No matter the path, getting a ball-handler to help run the bench is Boston's biggest priority now that the center position has been addressed.
Looking forward, it will be interesting to see how the Celtics look to make more trades given the potential return of Jayson Tatum. While a decision on what he will ultimately do is still a ways away, the competitor in Tatum would likely be itching to get back on the hardwood if Boston is still in the thick of the East race come the final stretch of the regular season.
Should Boston look to make any more trades, the team has until 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 5 to do so. Since Brad Stevens became GM, the Celtics have always made a trade on the day of the deadline, and some have been great moves by the franchise.
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