The Boston Celtics' success this season creates more flexibility as they navigate the trade deadline. The franchise could justify standing pat, especially if they're anticipating Jayson Tatum returning this season, which seems more likely than not. He could be far from his All-NBA First Team form and still prove the most impactful addition made during the current campaign.
However, there's also the possibility of parting with Anfernee Simons, who has built a compelling case to stay. Trading him could net the Celtics a new starting center, like Ivica Zubac. That could also allow them to acquire a significant front-court addition, like Jaren Jackson Jr. The former Defensive Player of the Year is best as a stretch-four in a double-big lineup.
Parting with Simons could also allow Boston to shed salary. If they do so, depending on when Tatum returns and whether Payton Pritchard returns to the role of sixth man, the C's may need another ball handler.
Unfortunately, one intriguing option may not be available.
The latest intel on Ayo Dosunmu
ESPN recently named Ayo Dosunmu as a worthwhile target for the Celtics, should they move Simons and find themselves in need of a new guard.
The fifth-year guard is a tenacious on-ball defender. At six-foot-four, his size, speed, and motor make life difficult for his assignments. He's also averaging nearly a steal per game off the bench while almost exclusively coming off the Bulls' bench.
He is also in the midst of a career year from beyond the arc. Dosunmu is burying 45.3 percent of the 4.3 three-point attempts he is hoisting. For his career, he's knocking down 37.6 percent of the 3.2 triples he's launching.
While the former Illinois standout is an ideal target if Boston trades Simons, that prospect took a significant hit. In his latest reporting for Marc Stein's Substack, The Stein Line, NBA insider Jake Fischer noted that Chicago is more likely to move Coby White.
"Dosunmu has been able to play a more complementary game on both ends of the floor alongside [Josh] Giddey. Not only is Dosunmu a Chicagoland native, something the franchise has always placed particular value in — from [Derrick] Rose himself to recent lottery pick Matas Buzelis — but sources say he's also found good alignment with the Bulls' coaching staff."
With Fischer also reporting that White rejected a four-year, $87 million offer from Chicago in the fall, it would come as more of a surprise if he's still with the Bulls after the trade deadline than his fellow backcourt mate, Dosunmu.