Celtics, Celtics trade, Anfernee Simons, Nikola Vucevic, Jayson Tatum
Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics talks with head coach Joe Mazzulla during the second half against the LA Clippers at TD Garden on November 16, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony believes that the Boston Celtics trading Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic could be the harbinger for Jayson Tatum returning from injury at some point this season.
“Boston just strengthened their front court in a major, major way,” Anthony told the “NBA on NBC and Peacock” broadcast while analyzing the Celtics trade for Vucevic.
“Is this a sign that JT is on his way back? Because if you’re getting Anfernee Simons out of there, you’re clearing up that space to implement Jayson Tatum coming back.”
Anthony also loves the basketball fit of Vucevic — one of the best stretch fives in the league — on a Celtics team that has ranked top two in three-point attempts for four consecutive years and encourages its players to shoot bombs away.
“Vuc is a shooting big who can also control the paint, and play within that system in Boston,” Anthony said. “That’s an interesting move right there.”
NBA on NBC and Peacock
“This move shows they are going for it.”
The NBA Showtime crew discusses the trade between the Celtics and the Bulls that sent Anfernee Simons to Boston and Nikola Vučević to Boston.
Celtics Acquire Nikola Vucevic
For the Celtics, the Vucevic-Simons swap is a low-risk, high-reward move that allows them to not only reduce their luxury tax bill but also add more proven firepower ahead of the playoffs. Vucevic, averaging 16.9 points and 9.0 rebounds, has made 1.7 of his 4.5 threes this season. His three-point attempts will almost surely skyrocket on the Celtics.
If the Vucevic experiment doesn’t work, the C’s can simply let the 35-year-old veteran center walk this summer when his $21M expiring salary comes off the books.
The Celtics are expected to immediately insert Vucevic into the starting lineup, per beat writers covering the franchise. Such a move would give the 2024 NBA champions steady backup bigs in Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, both of whom have been stellar for Joe Mazzulla’s team this season.
Jayson Tatum Return Imminent?
Besides Carmelo Anthony, Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell also feels that the Celtics trade of Vucevic could open the door for a Jayson Tatum return.
“Now, that’s the million-dollar question,” Maxwell told ClutchPoints of a Tatum return after the Vucevic trade. “I don’t know where he’s at, and I talked to him for a minute. Talking to him, he seems undecided, like he’s unsure at the moment.”
Tatum has tried to temper expectations on his return, telling The Pivot podcast and ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne recently that he remains undecided about risking a return to the court during the second half of the 2025-26 season.
“That’s something I contemplate every day,” Tatum said of a Celtics return. “More so about the team, if or when I do come back this season, they would’ve played 50-some-odd games without me. So they have an identity this year or things that they felt have clicked for them, and it’s been successful, right, third or second team in the East up to this point. So there is a thought in my head that’s like, how does that work or how does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season?”
In Tatum’s absence, the Celtics improved to 32-18 on Tuesday night with a 110-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. They remain in a tight battle with the New York Knicks for the second seed.