Celtics trade pitch finds ideal Kristaps Porzingis replacement by moving Simons

Yahoo

10 hours ago

The Boston Celtics are still looking for ways to shed salary, and that could come in a few different ways. If Brad Stevens could also do that in a way to improve the rest of his roster, it's possible that things could look great for the Celtics in the short and long term.
When recently looking for a few trade ideas around for Anfernee Simons, Matt Moore of FanSided proposed a few intriguing ones. Perhaps his most intriguing, however, was a deal with the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu.
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Boston Celtics get: Nikola Vucevic, Ayo Dosunmu
Chicago Bulls get: Anfernee Simons, Xavier Tillman
'The Bulls have a logjam of guards, so adding Simons is a little curious. But think of this way. In adding Simons, they can leverage him against Coby White, who is also on an expiring deal. The player who comes out on top gets extended.
'That, along with the Giddey extension, sets their direction for the long-term in the backcourt while Matas Buzelis develops... The Celtics shave off another $1.4 million off their cap space, while continuing to clean the books for 2026, and add a dogged defender in Dosunmu who fits their system better than Simons. Think of what Dosunmu will learn as Derrick White's understudy,' he wrote.
Vucevic would be an interesting piece for the Celtics, as he has a somewhat similar skill set to Kristaps Porzingis.
While Porzingis is much better, and tough to disagree with, Vucevic can also make shots from beyond the arc, so in that sense, they have some similarities.
Dosunmu could also be a decent piece, and perhaps someone who could run the second unit, depending on what the Celtics want to do.