“Rival teams are definitely still under the impression that Boston is looking for deals involving both Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang” wrote The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer. The NBA Summer League is officially over, meaning that the only time to do now for teams are trades. With players holding minimum contracts and two-way contracts being the priority, Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang’s names have recently gained traction. Brett Siegel stated that “the two teams did not engage in trade talks at Summer League”, but a connection between the Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies is forming. If an analyst is to be believed, the Grizzlies can make an offer that the Celtics can’t refuse!

‘Celtics Today by Chat Sports’ host Tyler Smith recently touched base on the trade discussion revolving around the Boston-based franchise. He highlighted that Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson, and Santi Aldama are already out as options, with Aldama having recently signed a three-year, $52.5 million deal. However, a trade deal could be created by piling together, as Smith said, “a bunch of, you know, young up and coming front court players that Memphis has to offer”. Smith already had an example in mind, as he had been working on trade ideas for Simons for a while.

“This was one that kind of got brought up that brings Brandon Clarke, Vince Williams, and John Konchar to Boston in exchange for Simons. A couple of smaller contracts, ones that are easy to flip, ones that maybe a team that’s competing down the line this season would like to trade for at the deadline,” said the host. “So, this could get some draft assets or future capital back in a, you know, another further deal. Like, I like the way that it kind of breaks up the money and gives Celtics more flexibility to make deals down the line”.

This trade would allow the Celtics to acquire players with smaller, movable salaries. The $6.7 million that would reportedly be saved from the deal would be an interesting relief on the salary cap front. Furthermore, the advantage won’t just be on the financial front, since Williams and Konchar are good options to be placed on the wing. As solid rotation pieces, they could take on bigger roles in the 2025-26 season while Jayson Tatum continues dealing with his injury issues.

Will the Grizzlies prove to be a hurdle? Not really, if they are serious about replacing Desmond Bane with another scorer. The 27-year-old shooting guard was traded to the Orlando Magic last month, leaving a major gap at the scoring front. Simons averaged 19.3 points last season through 6.8-16.1 (42.6%) field goals, 3.1-8.5 (36.3%) 3-pointers, and 2.5-2.8 (90.2%) free throws. The shooting is not the best, but on par with that of Bane, who averaged 19.2 points through 7.1-14.8 (48.4%) field goals, 2.4-6.1 (39.2%) field goals, and 2.6-2.9 (89.4%) free throws.

With a deal as sure as this, Anfernee Simons’ trade is as good as sealed. The same would appeal to several fans, but don’t count Dwyane Wade on that list.

Dwyane Wade gave praise for Anfernee Simons’ trade to the Celtics: “Can fill it up”

Last month, the Miami Heat legend released another episode of his ‘Wy Network by Dwyane Wade’ podcast. During the same, he got into odds with his former teammate Dorrell Wright over Simons’ trade to the Boston Celtics. Wright wasn’t in the wrong to worry, since the 25-year-old guard doesn’t have too much valuable experience to his name. He played seven seasons in the NBA, but appeared in only 15 playoff games. On top of that, he has seen action in only 8 minutes past the first round of the playoffs. After winning the 2024 championship, the Celtics cannot solely be focused on important things for the regular season. For Wade, however, Simons can fill with energy what he can’t with experience.

“What I love about the Celtics is getting this young guy who can fill it up. Anfernee can fill it up. We know that I think he averaged almost 20 points per game. We know he can do it in bunches, right?” said Wade. “He has a lot of Dame in him. Obviously, Dame was his mentor. So I loved the fact that they just grabbed a young fella’ to insert some energy into that team, not knowing what Jayson Tatum’s going to be next year or what Jaylen Brown’s going to be”.

At a time when Jayson Tatum is out and Jaylen Brown recovers after an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the Celtics need scorers. At the same time, however, one cannot ignore the fact that Anfernee Simons is on an expiring contract. Once it concludes at the end of the next season, he will be owed more than $27 million. The Celtics already have the 5th highest salary allocation, a whopping $237.4 million for the upcoming season. Therefore, the question that comes up is whether Anfernee Simons is a good enough player over whom one can take a financial risk.

Where do you stand on this trade discussion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.