The Boston Celtics roster will look dramatically different come opening night, with them having gutted their championship core. Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet are all gone, leaving them with a dramatically different roster that could struggle if they don’t address their biggest flaw, center.
However, they could solve that by targeting Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic. They even have the perfect trade piece, Anfernee Simons, who they acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers for Holiday.
It’s an interesting trade, to say the least, with Simons being one of the most accurate high-volume 3-point shooters in the NBA. Meanwhile, Vucevic is coming off his best season in recent years, averaging 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds and drilling 40.2% on 4.4 3-point attempts per game. That could make the two players perfect to be swapped for one another.
The Chicago Bulls are the perfect trade partner for the Boston Celtics
With Porzingis, Horford, and Kornet all gone, the Celtics only have two centers on the roster, potentially a third if they sign Charles Bassey, who is playing on their Summer League team. Still, none of them are starting caliber. That increases the need for them to make a trade for Vucevic.
While Boston will be dramatically worse without Jayson Tatum for all of next season, they should still be good enough to be a top-four team in the Eastern Conference. This alone could provide them with a decent chance of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, although they will need to address their center issues.
The Celtics already have good depth at guard with Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Jaylen Brown. And while Simons shooting would make sense for the Celtics’ 3-point-heavy team, he’s more of a luxury than a necessity. Swapping him out for Vucevic would give them a stopgap center and upgrade their weakest position.
Could an Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vučević trade happen?
Make no mistake, he’s a bad defender, so much so that Bulls fans would likely welcome a Vucevic trade. Then again, so is Simons. If the Celtics still plan to make a deep playoff run, they will need a starting center, and Vucevic is still one, even at 34 and a half years old.
If he can still contribute at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, and shoot well from deep on high volume, then he would be about as good as the Celtics can expect from a potentially available center on the trade market who isn’t on an expensive long-term contract.
As for the Bulls, they are unlikely to re-sign Vučević, and while they aren’t especially deep at center, Simons would be a smart addition. He wouldn’t start but could carve out a nice Sixth-Man role while trying to improve his stock in a contract year.
Overall, the Celtics could use a starting center such as Vucevic, given that they saw three of their big men leave this summer. Whether a Simons-for-Vucevic deal happens remains to be seen, but the potential deal makes sense for the Celtics and Bulls.
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July 13, 2025 | 7:16 am
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