All of the buzz around the Boston Celtics this summer has been mostly regarding the best ways for the team to shed salary. Of course, we’ve already seen President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens and co. make several cost-cutting deals this summer.
Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were unfortunate cap casualties, but their exits did result in the Cs diving below the second-apron and avoiding the harsh penalties that come with spending above that threshold.
Some have theorized that the Celtics don’t want to stop there. They could shed another $12 million and get below the luxury tax line too.
Any avenue to that point likely includes moving newly-acquired guard Anfernee Simons, who came back in the Holiday trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The 26-year-old is set to earn $27 million in the final year of his contract, making him an obvious choice to free up more cap space.
With that being said, Celtics fans probably won’t have to worry about the team taking a similar route to the Milwaukee Bucks, who waived and stretched Damian Lillard last month. The move saved them salary in the short-term, but put “dead cap” on their books down the line.
If Boston was planning to take the same action with Simons, that move would have had to come before 5 p.m. on Friday. While it hasn’t been widely discussed, there have been some fans who have theorized that the team could solve their Simons problem this way to avoid coughing up any assets to offload him in a trade.
The possibility of the Cs having to do so is annoying, but if the rumors of his lack of value are true, then it may end up being reality.
Simons could increase his trade value if he plays well with the Celtics
In recent weeks, insiders have speculated that Simons will at least begin the season in Boston because there hasn’t been any interest in the trade market. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a bad player, just that the league’s guard pool is extremely deep.
Teams don’t want to give up assets for an offensively gifted guard who isn’t a great defender, especially not making Simons’ salary.
There’s a fair chance that he fits quite well with the Celtics and even increases his value before the February trade deadline.
Just this week, Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett reported that an NBA executive shared that the Cs are still “very much willing to talk about Simons.”
That same executive believes there’s a real chance that Boston will be able to garner more in a trade by the time the deadline rolls around.
"I could see Boston being out of it and another team thinking they need a scorer like Simons to put them over the top. I could see another team that's close wanting to add that kind of firepower down the stretch and into the playoffs. Even if it's a rental."
For now, if Simons isn’t waived, it seems he’ll be sticking around at least for a cup of coffee.