The Boston Celtics may still look to trade Anfernee Simons this season, providing the Milwaukee Bucks with a perfect potential trade target to go after. With Damian Lillard gone, the Bucks have a massive hole at the guard position, and Simons could fill it very well, giving Giannis Antetokounmpo a new partner. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line wrote about Boston’s potential interest in moving Simons in a recent edition of the newsletter:
“The expectation persists, furthermore, that Boston will continue to invite trade discussion involving Anfernee Simons from now through next season's trade deadline on Feb. 5 at 3 PM ET,” Fischer wrote.
Simons would fit in beautifully with the rest of the Bucks’ lineup?
Why would Anfernee Simons make sense for Bucks?
When the Bucks waived and stretched Lillard, they got rid of two things: Their best perimeter scorer and their best playmaker. And when they signed Myles Turner, they failed to address either of those losses.
Since then, they’ve brought back Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr., while also landing Cole Anthony, but none of those moves come close to replacing what Lillard brought to the table.
Simons could come close. He’s been a staple in the Portland Trail Blazers’ offense for the past few years, emerging as one of the most impressive volume shooters in the NBA.
He would give the Bucks the type of shot creation and three-point shooting they desperately need to put around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
How could the Bucks trade for Anfernee Simons?
This is where things get a little tricky. The Celtics’ primary goal this summer has been to save money, and flipping Simons for Kyle Kuzma would help Boston do that. But only in the short-term. They probably won’t want to take on Kuzma’s future money in a trade.
That said, depending on how desperate the Bucks get for perimeter scoring, they could potentially work out a deal that doesn’t include Kuzma. However, it would almost definitely have to include Bobby Portis Jr., which Milwaukee could be hesitant to do.
Getting to Simons’ $27.7 million in a trade will definitely be hard for the Bucks, but there are certainly some ways they could get it done. The question is, would the Celtics be interested? That’s where things get a bit tricky, as the Celtics are in a weird spot.
No matter what a deal could look like, Simons should be firmly on the Bucks’ radar as they try to build out their new-look roster around Antetokounmpo.