The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away. Entering this season, many thought the Boston Celtics would be sellers before the clock struck 3 p.m. on the East Coast on Feb. 5. After all, gaining flexibility was a priority.
The franchise acted aggressively before the full effects of this more punitive collective bargaining agreement took hold. That decision helped raise Banner 18 to the rafters at TD Garden.
While the franchise has no regrets about how they operated, after consecutive campaigns over the second apron, they had no choice but to get below that threshold over the summer. There are also significant benefits to Boston shedding as much payroll as possible.
That includes the possibility of getting under the luxury tax. If the Celtics do so this season and next, they'll reset the repeater tax. That could create the flexibility needed to build their next championship roster. However, with the way this year is going, even the first step of that potential plan may have to wait.
Bill Simmons believes the Celtics' trade deadline plans have flipped
Boston's within striking distance of dipping below the first apron. The organization is just $4 million over that threshold. Even dodging the luxury tax is possible. The Celtics are $12.1 million above that line.
However, at the very least, Bill Simmons doesn't believe the latter will happen by February's trade deadline.
"The one thing that I think has unquestionably changed is they were definitely gonna try to get under the first apron and completely reset everything and try to figure out how to trade Simons and do those trades, like, [Anfernee] Simons for Malik Monk, and you save $6 million, and you pay somebody to take [Xavier] Tillman [Sr.], that kind of stuff. They're not thinking that way anymore," said Simmons on his eponymously named podcast. "I think the saving money thing's gone."
He also believes that Simons will finish this season in Boston, labeling him as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
To that point, the eighth-year guard is acclimating to his new role and improving on defense. He has the second-highest plus-minus rating in the Eastern Conference since December and the fourth-highest in the league since then.
Simons is generating 13.6 points per game off the bench. He's launching 6.4 threes and converting them at a 40.3 percent clip. The 26-year-old is building an increasingly compelling case to stick around -- not only beyond the trade deadline, but also for the Celtics to re-sign him in the offseason.
As Simmons said, if he gets rerouted by Feb. 5, the organization might shed salary in the process, but that won't be the primary motive.