Holy Offseason I Can’t Believe it’s July FA/Trade/Waiver Thread

[djFan71]

Anfernee Simons and the 2027 1st round pick should be used to go get a player you want around for the next 3-4 years. Nothing else really makes any sense. Celtics are not going to resign Simons because of his lack of defense and Stevens should be combing the NBA looking for a player that will be around and ready when Tatum returns. Anfernee Simons is not going to be that guy and everyone knows it. I still expect that Simons will never play a regular season game for the Boston Celtics.

Agreed. You may have the exact pick right too.

Now I just don't know who that player is that they should go out and get. I hope Brad Stevens does.

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

[fallguy]

This Simons stuff has never been complicated. He's not a Celtics-style defensive player. He's headed for a new contract we're not going to pay. From the moment the trade was announced, local beat guys said they might move him. Windy, who is as plugged in as anyone, says multiple teams tell him the C's are shopping him. You really have to go into contortions to think the Celtics are into him.

Do you really?

He's a shooter and we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history.

Clearly, looking at the moves we've made this offseason we're getting younger. Simons is young and fits the Jays timeline.

Windy has said plenty of stuff that never came to fruition. He throws stuff at the wall to see if it will stick, knowing that he spreads enough rumors, he's bound to be right every now and then. I wouldn't say he's as plugged in as Shams. And I haven't seen anything from Shams indicated we're looking to trade Simons.

As for Simons being a "Celtics style defensive player" I'm not really sure what that means. Brogdon was a cone when he was here, yet we still kept him for a year and he won 6MOY here. And if Brogdon was younger and had less injuries, who knows he might still be a Celtic right now. Hauser has defensive limitations. So does Pritchard. So does Niang. JB has had moments during his career when he's been a very poor off ball defender.

Simons hasn't been good defensively in his career but he also hasn't played on a real NBA team yet with real coaching, real defensive principles, a real defensive system. He's very quick, he's got good athleticism and has a 6'9" wingspan so he definitely has the tools to be a good defender. It certainly wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen if he improved on D after coming to a team like Boston. Blazers fans have come in here and commented that a big reason why he wasn't as good defensively there is because he was the no. 1 option so therefore he put most of his energy/effort into the offensive end. Here in Boston he'd be like the 3rd/4th option, would have less usage, less of a role so it would make sense that he would be able to ave more energy for the defensive end here.

"He throws stuff at the wall to see if it will stick, knowing that he spreads enough rumors, he's bound to be right every now and then. "

Your assessment of Windy is totally wrong. He is not making up that multiple teams are saying this. You cannot operate in this business and with the respect he has around the league that way.

Shams also said the Celtics might move Simons right from the beginning.

Watch on YouTube

Again, you like Simons, that's fine. But every indication is that Boston wants to move him.

[Celts17Pride]

Agreed. You may have the exact pick right too.

Now I just don't know who that player is that they should go out and get. I hope Brad Stevens does.

You have no clue who we could trade Simons for. You "hope" Brad knows.

Yet you "expect that Simons will never play a regular season game for the Boston Celtics."

Seems a bit contradictory.

How can you be so sure he'll be traded if you can't even come up with 1 possible guy we could trade him for?

I'm not the Celtics GM.

[Shak_Celts]

If he’s traded, I need them to hurry up! I need to fall in love with players when we get them, I need time and videos to get into them!! Let’s speed this up Brad!!!

[Hal14]

A potential outcome if we end up in the lottery and land a top 3 pick:

C Cameron Boozer
F Jayson Tatum
F Jaylen Brown
G Derrick White
G Payton Pritchard

Read on Twitter

[phincsfan]

A potential outcome if we end up in the lottery and land a top 3 pick:

C Cameron Boozer
F Jayson Tatum
F Jaylen Brown
G Derrick White
G Payton Pritchard

Read on Twitter

I don't think Boozer can play C in the NBA.

When the C's get the #1 pick they draft Dybantsa.

Then they trade Sam for a 1st rd pick and draft Ngongba or maybe Condon

Push White to PG and JB to SG

C - Ngongba
PF- JT
SF- Dybantsa
SG - JB
PG - White

[Hal14]

A potential outcome if we end up in the lottery and land a top 3 pick:

C Cameron Boozer
F Jayson Tatum
F Jaylen Brown
G Derrick White
G Payton Pritchard

Read on Twitter

I don't think Boozer can play C in the NBA.

When the C's get the #1 pick they draft Dybantsa.

Then they trade Sam for a 1st rd pick and draft Ngongba or maybe Condon

Push White to PG and JB to SG

C - Ngongba
PF- JT
SF- Dybantsa
SG - JB
PG - White

a) I see Boozer as a PF/C combo. I think he'll be able to play either spot. 6'9", 7'0" wingspan and about 240 lbs is basically the same measurements as Horford. Boozer is strong as heck. Good rebounder, can block shots. I see no reason why he wouldn't be able to play the 5 in the NBA.

b) I think Boozer is a better prospect than AJ. I don't even think AJ is a tier 1 prospect..I think Tier 1 right now is Peterson and Boozer..AJ is in the next tier down, as I touched on here:

https://the-center-hub.com/2025/07/09/initial-impressions-of-2026-draft-class/

c) Your scenario has too many things that all have to happen just right. Too many moving parts. Need the no. 1 pick, need to pull off a trade of Hauser for a 1st round pick (if that was possible, I figure it would have happened at this year's draft). Need to hope there's a C still on the board when we have that pick that we actually want. Need that C (who likely wouldn't be a lottery pick) to become good enough to be a starting C for a contender as a rookie which does not seem likely.

The Boozer scenario is simple. Get a top 3 pick and if Boozer is still there, draft him. That's it.

[bucknersrevenge]

Brad won't allow himself to deal from a position of weakness as it relates to Simons. He's definitely gonna keep looking to make moves but he said two things of note during that presser the other that help shed a little light into his thought process:

1. He will not attach draft compensation just to dump a player.
2. Chisolm confirmed that while getting out from under the 2nd apron was a priority because of the roster building penalties, getting out from under the repeater tax was NOT a priority.

If Brad can find a deal that works to either bring in the right player in return or allows them to shed Simons contract without giving up picks he'll do that. Otherwise there are other ways to get out from under the 2nd apron now that the heavy lifting is done. Brad would rather go into camp with this roster and either make a move at the deadline, or let Simons walk after the year or re-sign him and make other moves elsewhere to round out the roster then be painted into a corner with Simons.

Before the press conference I thought there was zero chance Simons made it to training camp but that changed everything. Now it's at least 50/50 he does.

[Hal14]

Agreed. You may have the exact pick right too.

Now I just don't know who that player is that they should go out and get. I hope Brad Stevens does.

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

Those 4 potential trade targets you mentioned..you could make a case that Simons is as good (or better) than all of them. Especially when factoring in age. And potential fit on the Celtics since we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history, and Simons is a better shooter than those other 4 guys.

So it doesn't seem ideal to me to get possibly a worse player in return *and* have to trade a 1st round pick.

[bucknersrevenge]

Niang isn't exactly the most athletic guy though, I'd be worried about significantly diminishing returns to scale as he gets deeper into his 30's (same will 100% be true for Hauser). Sure his game may age well because he doesn't rely on athleticism, but it could also age like milk if he loses a step and is a pure liability on the defensive end (and Niang has no steps to spare on that end of the court).

Sam is right in his prime and while he doesn't have a high ceiling, his floor is rock solid, so barring injury I feel like he's an incredibly safe option in terms of value. I'd move Niang now for the cost savings and then if we are still squeezed in the future I think you'd be able to swap Hauser for the likes of Niang without an issue (maybe even literally Niang depending on where he ends up).

If it's an either/or proposition for this season I'm firmly in the Hauser camp unless he's an unavoidable cap casualty as we try to duck the tax.

Exactly. Niang is not a guy who has ever relied on athleticism. He's been effective due to his smarts, savvy, feel, skill, craft, shooting, toughness and strength. Exactly the type of guy whose game will age well.

I wouldn't necessarily say Hauser's floor is rock solid. His floor is a guy who's unplayable in the playoffs. Hauser has had 3 postseasons now where he's gotten rotation mins. 22-23 he was in and out of the rotation, eventually losing his rotation spot to Grant, even though Grant was playing with a hand injury so severe he got surgery right after the season. 23-24 he had his moments where he was good but also had moments where he was pretty much unpayable. He was hit or miss. And in the 24-25 playoffs, he was ok at times but overall was bad - partly of course due to the back injury - which for all we know will continue to linger and cause problems for the rest of his career.

Niang on the other hand has logged 100+ mins in 5 different postseasons and to my knowledge has been more consistently playable than Hauser during those 5 playoff runs.

Bottom line, overall as players they are pretty comparable. We could sit here all day and debate which one is better. At the end of the day, they're both like a 7th/8th man in your rotation. They're not gonna make or break your title chances. If they are that far down in the rotation and they are so comparable to each other that it's basically like splitting hairs, give me the cheaper guy. Hauser is locked in long term at like $11mil a year. Niang is $8 mil this year and after that we could probably resign him for like 2 years at $4mil a year or so. That's a significant cost savings, which means we have more $ available so that the rest of the roster can be better.

Or maybe after this season, we don't even bring Niang back, because who knows, maybe we find out this season that we are getting enough value from guys like Walsh/Hugo/Scheirman/Minott that we don't really need either Hauser or Niang. Again, it's just the 7th/8th man spot in the rotation..as long as you've got someone halfway decent in that slot, you're ok. For a spot that deep in the rotation, you don't need to be paying a guy over $10mil a year, especially when he's mainly just a shooter and you're already paying 2 other guys on your roster supermax money.

Just because Niang doesn't rely on his athleticism doesn't mean his game is going to age well. If he loses a step he becomes unplayable defensively and his offense isn't nearly enough to sustain him. We see it all the time with non-athletic shooters, despite not being "elite" athletes everyone in the NBA has to have a certain level of it otherwise you get run off the court. Not saying that's gonna be the case with Niang but it's absolutely a risk as he enters his twilight NBA years.

Hauser's floor is absolutely rock solid. He's an adequate defender with a guaranteed 40% stroke from 3. Since he elevated his defensive game that's been his floor and I'd expect him to keep that going for at least 3-4 years (obviously barring injuries etc.). His ceiling is the issue, which is why he goes from a guy who can be a fringe starter for a championship team to a questionable playoff roll of the dice. His floor is pretty much guaranteed as a rotation level guy, whether he can be a difference maker (or even just consistently passable) in the playoffs is the question and that's all about his ceiling.

And I'm just not reading these playoffs stats the same way you seem to be. His numbers look identical to Sam's averaged for their careers and Niang has some putrid performances to go along with a couple good ones. I don't see much difference in them to be honest and Sam's got a ring.

I can get on board with it just being down to personal preference in choosing between the two, but from my perspective, unless it's the difference between ducking the tax and/apron or not, I've got Sam as the clear choice. A bit more expensive but not unreasonable for what he gives you plus he's younger, still has potential to grow more (although I would say he's at his ceiling realistically), locked in and seemingly very tradeable as an archetype that every team can incorporate. He'd be a solid piece to throw in for aggregating salaries if we made a big swing to trade for another star when Tatum is healthy. Alternatively he's a great fitting puzzle piece to keep around if we trade a bunch of other guys instead and need to backfill holes on our roster.

Just as an asset I think Sam is clearly more valuable. I feel like it'll be a lot easier to find an older vet like Niang in the future for the cheap than it would be to get a team to give you a proven 3&D guy locked in for his prime years.

Niang is not a world beater but what I do like is the versatility in his offensive game. Obviously he's a shooter but he's also a good screener which we certainly value here. This makes him an excellent fit on this team because he's obviously capable as a "pop" guy who can step out and hit 3's but he's also low key pretty solid in the short roll as well. He's got nice touch from 10 feet and in. Uses his size well on drives to get to the rim. He has a couple of post moves he can oull out on a mismatch if needed down there. He also is very effective driving closeouts. And he'll make the connective pass. Plays with a pretty high IQ and at the 4, he can create matchup problems. He's a good fit with the Jay's as a PnR/PnP guy. Great in DHOs as a screener.

Hauser is just a different player. He's not used as a screener that wayAnd he's working on getting better driving closeout and with his in-between game but Niang is definitely leagues better there. Now obviously Sam's a better defender for sure but Niang's problems on D usually only surface when he gets to the playoffs when teams try to get him on a switch. We might have to call out the switches against the elite guards to keep him out of that. Vet bigs who know what they're doing in this regard would be a huge help here but unfortunately we can't have everything we want. In some ways because Niang is best suited at the 4 while Hauser is a 3 along with the logjam of 3's we have makes keeping Niang a potential better option than Sam regardless of whether or not Same may or may not be individually better and that part is at the very least arguable.

[winsomme2]

Brad won't allow himself to deal from a position of weakness as it relates to Simons. He's definitely gonna keep looking to make moves but he said two things of note during that presser the other that help shed a little light into his thought process:

1. He will not attach draft compensation just to dump a player.
2. Chisolm confirmed that while getting out from under the 2nd apron was a priority because of the roster building penalties, getting out from under the repeater tax was NOT a priority.

If Brad can find a deal that works to either bring in the right player in return or allows them to shed Simons contract without giving up picks he'll do that. Otherwise there are other ways to get out from under the 2nd apron now that the heavy lifting is done. Brad would rather go into camp with this roster and either make a move at the deal, or let Simons walk after the year or re-sign him and make other moves elsewhere to round out the roster then be painted into a corner with Simons.

Before the press conference I thought there was zero chance Simons made it to training camp but that changed everything. Now it's at least 50/50 he does.

I actually don’t understand why it’s so hard to move Simons (and Niang for that matter).

If you have a solid defensive team, he’s a good vinnie the microwave type option off the bench. Instant offense on an expiring contract. I would think many playoff teams would be interested.

[bucknersrevenge]

Now I just don't know who that player is that they should go out and get. I hope Brad Stevens does.

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

Those 4 potential trade targets you mentioned..you could make a case that Simons is as good (or better) than all of them. Especially when factoring in age. And potential fit on the Celtics since we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history, and Simons is a better shooter than those other 4 guys.

So it doesn't seem ideal to me to get possibly a worse player in return *and* have to trade a 1st round pick.

Right now Vooch and Claxton may be the only 2 bigs that make sense and I don't see Brooklyn giving up Nic without heavy comp. And as bad as our Center rotation looks right now, you'd have to make me a good argument why we don't just let Garza, Neemi and Amari play through a bridge year over trading Simons for a worse player in Vuc just because he's a big. Best bet may just be to wait. Maybe someone gets injured. Who knows? Or let him go at the end of the year and pocket the savings.

[djFan71]

Now I just don't know who that player is that they should go out and get. I hope Brad Stevens does.

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

Those 4 potential trade targets you mentioned..you could make a case that Simons is as good (or better) than all of them. Especially when factoring in age. And potential fit on the Celtics since we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history, and Simons is a better shooter than those other 4 guys.

So it doesn't seem ideal to me to get possibly a worse player in return *and* have to trade a 1st round pick.

I think you would probably lose that case. But, again you're much higher on Simons, so we won't really resolve that no matter how much we type.

I think positional need is a big factor here. Multiple times this summer we've seen crap to meh bigs traded for high scoring no-D guards AND a 2nd back. Nurkic for Sexton + 2nd. Collins for Powell + 2nd. I feel like there might have been one more, but can't remember off the top of my head. Simons may/not be slightly better than those 2, but he also costs $10M more.

We're talking a lotto-protected pick + Simons for a rotation big and some salary savings.

I also really feel like any PT Simons gets on this team this year would be wasted development for some other team in 26-27 under most scenarios. There's a chance he'll learn to do all the things he doesn't now and we resign him for cheap ($20M or less). But the combination of both the improvement and cheaper new deal seem unlikely.

So, I'd rather get a rotation big, and develop Baylor and Hugo more. Maybe even JD or some other PG we sign.

[jfs1000d]

I don't get the consternation about Simons. We have until the trade deadline to get rid of him. Or we can stretch him I guess. Lol.

Some are acting here like we are contenders but Brad left the Center position short for 25-26. To me, we aren't good enough to need a center and can't afford a top center anyway

Garza, Quetta, Tillman and Niang as small ball 5.

I envision this lineup:

Simons
White
PP/Hauser
Brown
Niang

Niang will be our small ball 5 late. I just feel he is rugged enough when we aren't going against a team with a monster offensive center.


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[winsomme2]

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

Those 4 potential trade targets you mentioned..you could make a case that Simons is as good (or better) than all of them. Especially when factoring in age. And potential fit on the Celtics since we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history, and Simons is a better shooter than those other 4 guys.

So it doesn't seem ideal to me to get possibly a worse player in return *and* have to trade a 1st round pick.

Right now Vooch and Claxton may be the only 2 bigs that make sense and I don't see Brooklyn giving up Nic without heavy comp. And as bad as our Center rotation looks right now, you'd have to make me a good argument why we don't just let Garza, Neemi and Amari play through a bridge year over trading Simons for a worse player in Vuc just because he's a big. Best bet may just be to wait. Maybe someone gets injured. Who knows? Or let him go at the end of the year and pocket the savings.

What if moving Simons could free up money to sign Big Al?

While I’m intrigued about Simons, I’d rather Brad get us a C because I’m not ready to concede next year.

What about DEN as a landing spot for Simons?

[bucknersrevenge]

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

Those 4 potential trade targets you mentioned..you could make a case that Simons is as good (or better) than all of them. Especially when factoring in age. And potential fit on the Celtics since we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history, and Simons is a better shooter than those other 4 guys.

So it doesn't seem ideal to me to get possibly a worse player in return *and* have to trade a 1st round pick.

I think you would probably lose that case. But, again you're much higher on Simons, so we won't really resolve that no matter how much we type.

I think positional need is a big factor here. Multiple times this summer we've seen crap to meh bigs traded for high scoring no-D guards AND a 2nd back. Nurkic for Sexton + 2nd. Collins for Powell + 2nd. I feel like there might have been one more, but can't remember off the top of my head. Simons may/not be slightly better than those 2, but he also costs $10M more.

We're talking a lotto-protected pick + Simons for a rotation big and some salary savings.

I also really feel like any PT Simons gets on this team this year would be wasted development for some other team in 26-27 under most scenarios. There's a chance he'll learn to do all the things he doesn't now and we resign him for cheap ($20M or less). But the combination of both the improvement and cheaper new deal seem unlikely.

So, I'd rather get a rotation big, and develop Baylor and Hugo more. Maybe even JD or some other PG we sign.

I think this pretty much encapsulates how I feel. I'd add in that I wouldn't have Jaylen top 40 games. Problem is, I'm coming around to the idea that trading for a big is just not in the cards right now and if I'm honest with myself, barring unforeseen circumstances, won't be in the cards all year. Will be happy to be wrong but I never get what I want.

My dream is still Bam in a year. But that's a whole other convo.

[djFan71]

Someone in the PJ Washington, Gafford, WCJ, Clarke type group make sense to me. Simons/27 out and one of those back and filler (hopefully) elsewhere would be the ideal. UTA with their new TPE works for the filler. Just need someone to want Simons...

Those 4 potential trade targets you mentioned..you could make a case that Simons is as good (or better) than all of them. Especially when factoring in age. And potential fit on the Celtics since we shoot more 3's than any team in NBA history, and Simons is a better shooter than those other 4 guys.

So it doesn't seem ideal to me to get possibly a worse player in return *and* have to trade a 1st round pick.

Right now Vooch and Claxton may be the only 2 bigs that make sense and I don't see Brooklyn giving up Nic without heavy comp. And as bad as our Center rotation looks right now, you'd have to make me a good argument why we don't just let Garza, Neemi and Amari play through a bridge year over trading Simons for a worse player in Vuc just because he's a big. Best bet may just be to wait. Maybe someone gets injured. Who knows? Or let him go at the end of the year and pocket the savings.

I'd put Vooch lower than any of the guys I listed, tbh. But, yeah, Claxton is another good one though - and my draft binkie. His contract this year doesn't save a ton, but that's not necessarily the goal. And it's descending in the future.

[djFan71]

Addendum to the above. Jordan Clarkson was the other scoring-no D guard I was thinking of. He couldn't even be traded. Had to be bought out.

[jfs1000d]

Niang can play. He is superior to Horford offensively at this point in their respective careers Defensively, he isn't a rim protector but he can play the PnR.

Now, Horford is a better defender than Ben at his age, but I think we got the closing small ball 5 out there.

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[165bows]

Money aside I’d keep Niang. Big issue is he’s older and if he does well in more minutes this year he’s going to want more money.

Don’t think he overlaps with Hauser though who’s a 2/3 Niang is a 4.