All signs point to Anfernee Simons being a member of the Boston Celtics when the NBA season starts next month, despite not-so-secret efforts to reroute him in a trade and create more cap flexibility or acquire future assets.
If it feels like the Celtics haven’t rostered a player like Simons — a score-first, everything else second guard — in a while, that’s because they haven’t. Simons’ archetype is not one that Brad Stevens pursues often, making his role on the C’s this year fascinating.
In theory, Simons makes perfect sense next to Derrick White, a defensive-minded guard who can mold his game like clay to better fit with whoever he’s sharing the floor with. But the new Celtic, who spent the past seven years with the Blazers, is a definite change of pace from the guards the team has employed in previous years — with The Jays providing so much scoring punch, there hasn't been a need for an offensive-minded guard. Will the Celtics give Simons the green light like he had in Portland (16-plus FGA each of the past three years) or try to mold him to a player who more clearly fits the Joe Mazzulla offensive system?
That remains to be seen. Simons played a combo guard role in Portland, tasked with some ballhandling duties and a lot of scoring responsibility. It might behoove Joe Mazzulla to experiment with Simons as a more traditional shooting guard who plays off the ball more than he has it in his hands.
While Simons can create his own shot — and when he gets in a groove, can score in bunches — his isolation numbers overall the past two years (43.8% EFG in ISO) aren't quite good enough to justify just giving him the ball and letting him figure it out, especially when he's such a good shooter off the catch, pulling up, and on the move — having him receive passes from Derrick White ready to shoot might be the best way to maximize Simons' efficiency and strengths.
Celtics will try to hide Simons' defense as much as possible
The other side of the court is where Simons has his biggest struggles, and that will be new territory for the modern Celtics, too.
“It’s the biggest weak link the Celtics have had defensively since… Isaiah Thomas?” Jay King of The Athletic said on The Athletic NBA Daily, adding, “So, what do they do with Anfernee Simons? It’s not really in Brad Stevens’ DNA to add a guy who has always graded out near the bottom of the league in defense. Is he part of the long-term future? I don’t know…”
I would personally make the argument that Kemba Walker was a more recent player in the Simons archetype, but the sentiment is the same; it's been years since someone like Anfernee Simons has played big-time minutes for the C's.
And it might be short-lived. With his contract expiring, and Jayson Tatum set to return next season, the Celtics might once-again look for pass-first, facilitating point guards to pair with their ball-dominant wings in 2026-27 and beyond. In the meantime, the Celtics offense will have to adjust to Simons' playstyle — and Simons will have to adjust to a potentially different role than he's played in the past.