Brad Stevens Has Found His Center By Trading Anfernee Simons To The Bulls For Nikola Vucevic

And there it is. 

When the Celtics first traded for Anfernee Simons, most felt like it was just a placeholder until Brad Stevens flipped him at the deadline. That they traded more for the contract and to get off Jrue Holiday’s money than for the actual player. 

But as the season went on, Simons completely bought in and turned himself into a completely different player, especially in the defensive end, which was his biggest question. Suddenly, he became a player you could talk yourself into the Celtics keeping. He was thriving in his role while providing a winning impact. It felt like in a matter of months, Simons developed into a piece you could see being a part of the next iteration of the roster.

So as we entered Trade Deadline week, this was the biggest domino for the Celtics. Would they flip Simons or maybe keep him around for the rest of the year and then hope to re-sign him, or would he be flipped to help fill a positional need (big man)?

In a way, there really isn’t a wrong answer. There are pros to keeping him, and pros to flipping him. I guess it really came down to the price and if they were moving off Simons, what the plan might be to replace that bench scoring/shot creation/ball handling.

Last week, we learned that the Celtics turned down a Vuc trade because the Bulls were asking for a 1st round pick. As you can see above, the Bulls lowered their price to just a 2nd while also sending back a 2nd and that was enough for Brad Stevens to pull the trigger.  Add in the tax savings (still above the luxury tax) and what that now opens up in terms of additional moves they can make, and you can see why Brad made this move. 

Now, personally, I can't say that any of the big money centers really moved the needle for me, or at the very least, were worth losing what Simons gives you considering the improvement he's already made. At the same time, Brad Stevens is never wrong. So if he feels like this is a good move that makes sense, what, I'm supposed to tell Brad Stevens he's wrong? No chance. My questions are more around what comes next, because now there is a bit of a positional need for guard/ball handler depth, so we'll have to see what the next domino is.

I also wonder if the Celtics had a pretty good idea how likely it was that they were going to be able to re-sign Simons this summer. If they knew that wasn't going to be an option, then there is something to be said about flipping the asset. Now they did flip Simons for a player who is also on an expiring deal, but perhaps Vuc is more re-signable for a reasonable number this summer. I guess we'll have to wait and see there as well.

In the immediate short term, this trade does check off the Celtics need for a center. Even with his defensive issues, Vuc is a solid rebounder/low post scorer who can stretch the floor a little bit. I feel like he's been rumored to the Celtics for years now, so it is a little weird that it finally happened. But if the goal of this deadline was to clean up your books a little bit while also addressing a need, technically, this move does do both of those things. 

When it comes to Anfernee Simons' short tenure as a Celtic, as I said the other day I have zero complaints. He was a good Celtic who completely bought into everything. The system, the role, all of it. We never heard any complaining, we never heard any pushback or drama, so I wish him nothing but the best. He leaves Boston a better player, and that's a testament to his hard work and willingness to improve. Who knows if he stays a Bull or what, but whoever gets him next will be getting a better player than he was as a Blazer.

I'd be shocked if this was all the Celts do this deadline, so we'll have to wait for all the dust to settle to truly gauge how they did. But in terms of addressing a need and bringing in a decent player, Brad did his job.

Now, let us all enjoy the Anferno one last time