The prospect of an Anfernee Simons replacement has come up quite often for the Boston Celtics, even if it was clear Boston didn't make that a priority. In fact, the only time the Celtics considered a player like Simons this summer was when reports said they were interested in bringing back Simons himself.
So, yeah, it's unlikely, especially after adding Mike Conley Jr., who may not be the same player but may be better for the locker room and influence on protecting the ball (a key cog in Mazzulla Ball). However, the opportunity to snag a Simons replacement may show itself before the season starts, as it appears D'Angelo Russell may be available in the not-too-distant future.
Before you laugh, it appears Russell isn't long for Memphis (surprising, I know!), as their roster crunch will likely lead to him being waived before the season starts. The last time Russell played meaningful basketball was for the team that originally drafted him No. 2,11 years ago: the Los Angeles Lakers.
Since then, he has bounced around from Dallas to Washington to Memphis, where his playing time has been quite limited. Russell will go down as a player with the talent to be a star but never quite figured it out. In all fairness, it may have been different had Brooklyn kept him instead of adding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
His career is on its last legs, but his calling card was being an electric scorer like Simons was for Boston.
How Russell would fill in for Simons
Boston valued their cap flexibility more than they did Simons last season, as shown by trading him at the deadline for Nikola Vucevic, but that doesn't mean he wasn't useful for them. Simons proved how useful he was when Boston simply couldn't get their shots going.
It took a minute, but Simons proved his worth when he would single-handedly spearhead quarters and even entire games when he put Boston's offense on his back. Russell is cut from the same cloth, though he's not as efficient as Simons is.
D-Lo has the talent to take over a game, but not consistently, which is why his value simply just isn't what it was. At this stage of his career, he's a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency kind of player. When everyone's off, he'd be a solid option to go to for instant offense to save the team whenever that happens.
Admittingly, I may be giving him a little too much credit, and he definitely has a reputation for being a locker room nuisance. If Boston wouldn't be interested in him, that would make a lot of sense, but if they are, they'd do so believing he could do what Simons did, just less often.
Add us as a preferred source on Google