The Celtics have agreed to send Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. Whether that will be his final destination remains an open question, according to Bulls beat reporter Joe Cowley from the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley reports that Simons remains a trade candidate for Chicago along with newly acquired guard Collin Sexton and Ayo Dosunmu.
The Bulls agreed to acquire Sexton from the Hornets on Wednesday as part of a deal for Coby White. Chicago’s roster is currently full of guards beyond that trio with Josh Giddey, Tre Jones and Jaden Ivey also remaining for the time being.
Officially, Simons is still on the Celtics roster on Wednesday night as both sides agreed to delay making the trade official until Thursday as other trade opportunities are investigated, per sources.
The Bulls acquired a second-round pick from Boston (via New Orleans) along with Simons in exchange for Vucevic and a 2027 second-round pick. Boston landed a big to bolster their frontcourt but also managed to shave down their payroll by about $5.9 million with the acquisition, with the second-round pick that’s likely to land in the 31-35 range providing the Bulls with some incentive to take on the bigger salary from Simons despite their guard glut.
It will be intriguing to see where Simons lands since his next home will have a big impact on his future potentially. Any team that acquires Simons will own his Bird Rights and can go over the salary cap to retain the veteran guard this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Additionally, playing for a playoff team could help improve Simons’ value, as he had done in the first half of the season with Boston. However, his hefty salary ($27.4 million) could make him a tough name to move for an appealing return to Chicago ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
Simons was ruled out of Wednesday’s game against the Rockets for Boston as his future gets sorted out in the coming hours.
