For fans, the NBA Trade Deadline is one of the most exciting times of the year. They get to sit back and wait to find out what the next big move in the association is going to be. Which teams are going to get better immediately? Which are piling draft picks?
For the players, it’s a nerve-racking time. Though they’re the ones involved, they have no control over what happens -- with the exception of the superstars who wield the power to force a trade.
They have to sit back and wait to find out what the next big move in the association is going to be. Are they going to get traded? Is their team going to shake things up? Will they have to watch one of their teammates get shipped away?
Members of the Boston Celtics went through the latter on Tuesday, when reports surfaced that Boston traded Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic.
“Anfernee has all the respect in the world from me — it's a business, but there's a human aspect to it,” Jaylen Brown told reporters in the locker room following Tuesday’s 110-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks, via CLNS Media.
Vucevic is a former All-Star who bolsters a thin backcourt in Boston. His talents will undoubtedly be appreciated.
Anfernee Simons made a lasting impression in his short tenure as a Celtic
Meanwhile, Simons spent about eight months as a member of the Celtics. The entire time, his name was woven into just about every trade rumor out there. Yet he showed up for the team on a daily basis, accepted a smaller role than he’d played in years, and worked to improve as a defender.
“Since he's been here, he's contributed to winning,” Brown continued. “He's won us some games. He's just a great, great person, great kid on and off the floor, just humble like — I hope he gets everything that he's looking for, just because he just fit right in with his group of guys in our locker room. He could have had different thoughts and thought differently, and his energy could have been different.”
Simons’ time in Boston personified the team’s season as a whole. Expectations were relatively low when he arrived. Then, through the first 60% of the campaign, the Celtics have played about as well as anyone could’ve hoped. So did the former Portland Trail Blazers guard.
He provided the Cs with a reliable scoring punch off the bench, embracing the team-over-individual mindset that runs through the organization. Not to mention the consistent willingness to crash the offensive glass or make a hustle play.
“Love Ant. When you build a bond with your teammates, it's tough to see them leave — the Al Horfords, the Jrue Holiday, Luke [Kornet], KP [Kristaps Porzingis], now Anfernee, you definitely miss them, but it's part of the business,” Payton Pritchard explained, via CLNS Media.
Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman Sr., and the rest of Simons’ former teammates had nothing but glowing things to say about the departed guard, too.
The respect didn’t stop in the locker room, either. Much of the initial fan reaction on Tuesday was negative -- or at least on the sad side. As the day went on, more and more of the community began to open up to the idea that Vucevic could help the team, but there was a consistent appreciation for the way Simons carried himself as a Celtic.
When he and the Bulls come to town a week from Wednesday, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see TD Garden give Anferno a standing ovation.
“Man, he was a great teammate and did everything he needed to do that we asked him and more and contributed to winning,” Brown praised. “So Anfernee has all the respect in the world from me, and I hope he gets everything he deserves.”