When the Boston Celtics acquired Anfernee Simons, a dilemma was instantly created. Simons is a talented player who can provide positive value to any team he's signed to, but he's also playing on an expiring contract for a side to which he offers more of a surplus of quality than a missing ingredient.
With the trade deadline just over one month away, the Celtics are now facing the reality that trading Simons still remains their most viable path to improvement.
It's an unfortunate truth, as Simons has sacrificed his ego and embraced the system and ideology the Celtics employ. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has praised the veteran guard for buying in on defense, which was one of the primary concerns skeptics had in regard to his fit.
Simons has admittedly struggled in isolation, but he ranks in the 86th percentile in off-ball chaser defense and the 76th percentile in ball screen navigation, per Basketball Index.
Offensively, Simons has been an ideal sixth man who has an uncanny ability to put up points in a hurry. Considering both Payton Pritchard and Derrick White have experienced uncharacteristically poor starts to the season from beyond the arc, that's been something of a saving grace.
For as true as that may be, the harsh reality is that Simons has every reason to sign elsewhere next summer and the Celtics have a far more dire need for interior depth than backcourt options.
Anfernee Simons has bought in, but is still a short-term Celtics fit
One of the primary factors the Celtics must consider is that Simons is currently playing just 23.5 minutes per game. He's wholeheartedly embraced his role, but he's also a proven commodity who was averaging 32.7 minutes per contest as recently as last season.
With a 2026 period of unrestricted free agency looming, there's ample reason to believe Simons could sign elsewhere if he's promised a more consistent role in the rotation.
Perhaps Simons will begin receiving more minutes as the season progresses and this concern will be eradicated. The reality would still remain, however, that Pritchard and White are high-usage guards positioned to play ahead of him in the rotation.
Once Jayson Tatum returns from injury, he and Jaylen Brown will likely resume their roles as a two-headed offensive monster and thus make Simons' role even more difficult to define.
With this in mind, Simons' greatest value to the Celtics continues to be as a trade piece. It says nothing about his quality as a player, but instead the simple fact that Boston has a glaring lack of consistency at the center position.
Simons, meanwhile, is a proven scorer and playmaker whose $27,678,571 salary could realistically facilitate a trade for a high-level big who can address the Celtics' primary weakness.
Boston doesn't necessarily need to trade Simons for a center, but it should do what it can to get value back for him before it's too late. However that manifests, flipping Simons for an asset that has a clearer long-term outlook with the franchise must remain a top priority.
Simons deserves endless credit for buying in and embracing a selfless role during trying times in Boston, but the Celtics have been backed into the very corner they knew they'd encounter.