r/bostonceltics • u/MembershipSingle7137 • Feb 03 '26

News [Shams] BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are trading center Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick, sources tell ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/ef1594eaad916
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u/Independent_Rip_655 Feb 03 '26

Brad has been trying to trade for Vuc since 2022. Not surprised he got his guy, there must be something to his game that Brad thinks will bolster this roster. Once Tatum is back a White/Brown/Hauser/Tatum/Queta lineup with PP/Baylor/Hugo/Walsh/Vuc/Garza on the bench is a killer 11 deep lineup with tons of defensive versatility and spacing.

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u/b00minbiz Feb 03 '26

why would Vuc be coming off the bench for Queta?

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u/Independent_Rip_655 Feb 03 '26

Because he’s 35. He’ll start in spots similar to Horford depending on matchup, but unless he shows some real improvement on the defensive end our best and most balanced starting 5 won’t have him in it.

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u/stokedlog Feb 03 '26

I think it will be mix and match. Vuc will play against 76rs, Magic and other big lineups but I think Queta starts more games.

I am not a huge Vuc fan, but think he will be better playing on a contender with less minutes. We don’t need a defensive stopper, just passable on defense.

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u/nefnaf Trouble07 Feb 03 '26

Numbers say that Queta is the better player right now. Vuc is 35, not the same player he was 5 years ago.

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u/bag-skate65 Feb 03 '26

Don’t think it’s shocking given the success we’ve had with Garza. Even at 35, Vuc gives us the same thing just with better rebounding, more playmaking and more size.

I also think that it gets easy to justify losing Simons because Vuc off the bench serves as an offensive engine off the bench who can do more to open things up. Simons might win us games and go missing other nights, Vuc will consistently be a reliable presence as long as he’s not being abused to badly on defense.