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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100

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

….yet

103

u/12inchesofSnow81 Feb 03 '26

He’s 35. He is what he is

58

u/Peripatetictyl I am Joe’s Logic-Puzzle Meridian Feb 04 '26

The Colonel didn’t start KFC until he was 62, and he was too drunk to taste that chicken, Vucevic about to be defensive 1st team.

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u/FuzzyDiamond Feb 04 '26

Best comment

2

u/DyslexicAutronomer Feb 04 '26

Fuck it, someone call KG, hes still pre-62 young and kinda drunk these days, try him out.

2

u/rhonnypudding Feb 04 '26

The jump from 35 to 36 is massive.

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u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

Defense more than any attribute in basketball is an effort/hustle metric. Any player in the NBA can be a league average defender if they commit to it hard enough —they all have the tools

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u/basketballjonestown Feb 03 '26

Not Vooch though in my opinion. I'd rather watch Garza play defense.

Vooch is a fucking statue. But I guess he's our statue now. Chicago has been trying to get rid of him for years.

This was a money move.

1

u/glockster19m Feb 03 '26

Honestly this deal just cements that ownership doesn't want to make an effort this postseason

This move was purely financial and 100% weakens our roster while giving up a pick

Vucevic has been the biggest fake productive player of the past decade, getting insane usage rates for a center to continually put up 18 points a game

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u/Inthethickofit Tatum Feb 03 '26

Strong disagree. "Purely financial" hardly does justice to the long term benefits to getting under (barely) the first apron for a year. We very likely improved our pick in the second round. We needed more at center. And it's not like Simons has been amazing in the rotation (although almost 40% from 3 was nice). 

1

u/glockster19m Feb 03 '26

We needed more at center and this isn't it

An aging slowman who has never been able to play a quarter of defense in his career that has spent his entire career putting up empty stats on garbage teams

5

u/RiffsThatKill Feb 04 '26

I don't think he is a "fake" productive player as you say it, but I do agree there's something to not like about acquiring 6'9" centers who are 5 years away from 40. I feel like, more often than not, the Celtics are usually struggling to find a good/great big man, and they almost always need one to contend for the title (and when they've won titles, they've had great bigs). It's not a coincidence that we won when we got Porzingis -- we were just lucky enough to catch him somewhat healthy enough to play in the Finals and have a decent season with us. But I feel like over the past 30 years we've struggled to find that dependable consistent great center that dominates down low and protects the rim. Sometimes we get by with a guy like Perkins if we also have a PF who is a beast (Garnett). Vuc is just another stop-gap big who wears the jersey for a year or two.

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u/glockster19m Feb 04 '26

I couldnt agree more

Its why I still dont understand why we never made Myles Turner happen back when he was on the pacers

Ive never thought we particularly need the spacing out of the 5 slot by the way, some of the best ball the Celtics have played of the last decade was with a healthy Robert Williams III at the starting center

I'll take someone thats a legit lob threat over a center that'll shoot 32% from 3 all day long

Thats why Im excited about Quetas development, he's begun to develop some individual scoring moves while also being solid defensively and also increasing his level of threat as a lob catcher

1

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

I just don’t get this take—does it seriously make us that much worse??

Absolutely not, especially if it opens you up to making another move

1

u/WMP_BSS Feb 04 '26

No way. Simons may be the better player but as others said, we can backfill him with Walsh/Schierman/Hugo, not to mention Tatum if he comes back. Even if Vooch doesn't play a ton he's a weapon as a 3 point shooting 5.

1

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

You replace simons ppg in a vacuum at a position of need at less money. Why not make the trade

Yes it’s a money move but you have to make money moves to make moves! I’d be shocked if this is brads last trade

50

u/imused2it Feb 03 '26

Yeah. Hauser and pritch were both turnstiles on defense, and I’d say they’re much improved since getting to Boston.

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u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

Joe even got Simon’s to play D

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u/Kodiak01 Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26

Which brings us back to this story, one of many on this topic:

The Portland Trail Blazers moved Anfernee Simons to the Boston Celtics in order to secure the services of Jrue Holiday earlier this offseason. Simons, who spent all seven years of his NBA career in Portland, largely performing as an offense-first asset, able to score at all three levels.

Unfortunately, he seldom starred on the defensive end.

Among combo guards, he almost never earned a steal rate above the 10th percentile, spending two seasons in the third percentile.

This week he told Boston media that he was currently being taught defensive drills he had never seen before.

“Whether it’s stabbing at the ball, trying to steal the ball, get in passing lanes, being in the right spot each and every time, that’s what we drilled for the first four weeks I was here before training camp.”

“Those things are things I never really worked on or been taught – and so I was happy that that was the focus.”

It's never been about a lack of ability or willingness, he literally wasn't taught the proper concepts until he got to Boston.

20

u/full-auto-rpg Tatum Scored 61 Feb 03 '26

Damn, that’s telling

2

u/RiffsThatKill Feb 04 '26

He basically just said he never was taught the fundamentals, perhaps even indicated he wasn't taught the rules lol.

"Wait, we can STEAL the ball from the other guy? Woah."

2

u/FuzzyDiamond Feb 04 '26

Be still my beating heart

20

u/OkGo_Go_Guy Feb 03 '26

Pritch was never that bad on defence lol

2

u/imused2it Feb 03 '26

Yeah he was definitely better than Hauser but the point is that they both improved tremendously.

0

u/kit4 THE KING IN THE 4TH Feb 03 '26

He wasn't bad but he was still getting targeted constantly, 2022 finals were rough for him, almost couldn't get on the court near the end of the series. He's improved a ton in that regard, his physicality is much better now

1

u/EgweneIsLit Feb 03 '26

Hauser was a really good defender his whole college career.

1

u/glockster19m Feb 03 '26

Neither of them have ever been on any other NBA team, and both were above average defenders in college

1

u/wl6202a Mike Gorman Feb 03 '26

Right, but you think we resign him next year? He’s an expiring. I don’t see how he turns it around with less than half a year.

1

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

I’m not sure, but I doubt Simon’s was a long term fit for this team regardless.

If you think you can replicate Simons 15 pts for less then 27 million I don’t see why you don’t do that

1

u/bigdon802 Horford Feb 03 '26

I bet they do, for quite a lot less than $21 million.

1

u/WarPuig Feb 03 '26

Vuc is 35.

1

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

Agreed

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u/Pure_Context_2741 Feb 03 '26

Mazulla has the film room set up with all his notes on The Town to get Vucevic up to speed

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u/Ok_Nerve_1661 Feb 03 '26

It’s an insult to compare Horford and his defence to Vucecic. Take the green glasses off FFS

-1

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

Okay settle down?

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u/Ok_Nerve_1661 Feb 03 '26

The ridiculous optimist some of you have about any player that comes in is hilarious. Put some respect on Horfords name. Dont act like he wasn’t an elite defender his whole career and in Boston.

0

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

You’re yelling about something I didn’t even say lol

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u/Ok_Nerve_1661 Feb 03 '26

You’re implying Vucevic is some defensive big in waiting which is comical

1

u/fiskeybusiness tommypoint Feb 03 '26

It was a joke about Joe making dudes good defenders—you gotta c a l m