There’s been plenty of speculation about Anfernee Simons’ future with the Boston Celtics. The former Portland Trail Blazers guard has been a staple in rumors since arriving in last month’s Jrue Holiday trade.
With the Celtics hoping to further shed salary to avoid the numerous financial penalties woven into the newest CBA, the 26-year-old guard and his expiring $27.7 million contract simply may not be destined to put on a Celtics uniform. Considering that the trade that brought him to Boston hasn’t yet been made official, it wouldn’t be too crazy if he were rerouted elsewhere in a secondary deal.
The issue with Simons as a potential trade piece is that there aren’t many teams around the league that are in need of offensive-minded guards. There’s so much talent at the position in today’s NBA, that Simons just isn’t all that valuable. He’s best suited as a sparkplug off the bench for a contending team.
It just so happens that the LA Clippers could use some added scoring off their bench, after sending Norman Powell to the Miami Heat in a three-team trade Monday morning.
BREAKING: The Clippers, Jazz and Heat have agreed to a trade that sends Norman Powell to Miami, John Collins to Los Angeles, and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to the Jazz, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/o0FkV0o2l8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2025
While the Clips landed John Collins in the move, they’ll still be missing Powell’s production going forward. The 32-year-old averaged 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 48.4% from the field and 41.8% from beyond the arc last season.
Could the Clippers come calling the Celtics for Anfernee Simons?
Who knows if LA would be interested in further shifting their roster in a potential trade for Simons, but it could make sense if they want to try and replace what Powell was giving them behind James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.
A hypothetical move could look something like this:
Boston Receives:
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
- Derrick Jones Jr.
- Draft capital of some sort
Los Angeles Receives:
- Anfernee Simons
Getting Bogdanovic and Jones Jr. in return for Simons wouldn’t immediately save the Celtics money. They’d have to find a way to reroute one of them in another deal to do so. Of the two, Jones Jr. makes more sense in the short term. Boston is pretty thin in the frontcourt right now, with either Georges Niang or Sam Hauser projected to be the team’s starting power forward.
Jones Jr. would be a good fit for that role. He’s a lengthy body who can defend and shoot the three at a decent rate. Last year, he sank 35.3% of his long-range attempts, which isn’t the best number, but it’s also not the worst.
Bogdanovic and his $16 million salary wouldn’t be doing enough for the team in the short term for it to be worth keeping him around. Again, there’d likely be a secondary deal to shed his money.
Unfortunately for Boston, LA has other avenues to plug the void left by Powell’s departure. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto shared that the Clippers have been considering bringing back Chris Paul or signing Malcolm Brogdon, and have been monitoring a potential Bradley Beal buyout in Phoenix.
If Bradley Beal agrees to a Suns buyout, Clippers may have interest but only have $5.3M of the non-tax MLE to use. Malcolm Brogdon and Chris Paul have also drawn free agency interest from LA.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 7, 2025
Clippers get John Collins on an expiring $26.58M deal as Norman Powell goes to the Heat https://t.co/u5WFhG5nFd
Both of those potential moves would strengthen their bench without having to give anything up in return. If LA elects to take that path, then the Celtics will have to look elsewhere for a potential Simons deal.