The Celtics have made their first trade ahead of Thursday’s deadline. They shipped Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick to the Bulls for Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick, a league source confirmed to MassLive. The deal was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Simons has been in trade rumors for the past several months and now he’s getting moved to Chicago. The Celtics have also been rumored to get a front-court player and that’s exactly what they got in Vucevic from the Bulls.
Simons was acquired by the Celtics over the summer in the Jrue Holiday deal. He’ll now head to the Bulls amid a busy few days ahead of the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline.
The move helps the Celtics address a pair of needs in the present. It adds a floor spacing center in Vucevic. The big man is averaging 16.9 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 37.6 percent from 3-point range. The 35-year-old is in the final year of his contract, which makes him a free agent this summer.
The other aspect of this deal that sticks out is the financial component. The Celtics trimmed off about $6 million from their payroll this season since Vucevic only makes $21.5 million in the final year of his deal. That saves Boston about $22 million in luxury tax penalities as well. However, they are still $6 million over the tax line with the trade deadline still two days away, so more moves will be coming if Boston hopes to dodge the luxury tax.
Story by Souichi Terada, Brian Robb
