It's been about 24 hours since the Boston Celtics acquired Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Anfernee Simons. The trade has not yet been made official, but when it does, the Celtics likely won't have too difficult a time finding a guard to replace Simons' role as a second-unit guard.
Now, Simons was a highly productive scoring option off the bench, so the volume will be hard to replicate, but there seems to be a trend emerging around the league right now — guards are up for grabs. Just today, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, and Lonzo Ball all sound like they will be bought out, while others like Ayo Dosumnu likely remain available for buy-low trades.
Hey, even Anfernee Simons may be available for the Celtics (but the logistics of that would make everyone's head spin, so we probably shouldn't count on it).
Whatever the C's decide to do at guard now (if anything), it seems like parting with Simons for a big-time center upgrade was the right move with how many guards could still be on the move, many of them for low asking prices.
Celtics might have plenty of options for guard depth
After a slow start, Simons became a fan favorite among Celtics fans, and I think everyone (despite understanding the move) is a little sadder to see him go than they expected to be.
But now that Simons is in Chicago, the Celtics could do themselves some good by adding another backcourt player. Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez could both be important pieces to the C's long-term, but this team is obviously all-in on 2025-26, so adding a veteran on a minimum deal for the rest of the season could only help.
Who that guard may be remains purely speculation at this point. Lonzo Ball was, frankly, a rough watch in Cleveland but he can at least keep the ball moving for a few minutes a night with the second unit. Chris Paul is 83 years old, but he was solid as recently as last year, and played just 16 games in Los Angeles before things went sideways.
There is no perfect option on the buyout market, but that's fine because the Celtics aren't desperate to add another guard. That's why they were comfortable trading Simons in the first place! If they do decide to peruse the guard market, though, they won't be short on options, making yesterday's trade already look like a savvy move.