Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26

[bfchs123]

Hard to keep up...is there any actual credible Simmons rumor or are we just spitballing since he's still out there?

[celtxman]

Hard to keep up...is there any actual credible Simmons rumor or are we just spitballing since he's still out there?

We have been spitballing everything. We have never seen this type of uncertainty on virtually everything. It is the polar opposite of last offseason.

[playa-hater]

Hard to keep up...is there any actual credible Simmons rumor or are we just spitballing since he's still out there?

nothing "credible" but multiple twitter heads have said Boston is the favorite to land BS.

[Hal14]

I don't want him. He came over to the Clips played 18 games for them, averaged 3/4/3 on 43%/0/86% in 16 minutes, they were 3.4 points worse with him on versus off and they let him walk once the season ended.

Who cares about an 18 game sample size? That's nothing.

Not only a small sample size of games but we should know by now to not worry too much about the numbers a guy puts up on a new team he has to join in the middle of the season with no training camp and no time to get acclimated to the team's system, develop chemistry with his new teammates, etc.

On the full season, he had a respectable VORP of 0.4, a TRB% of 12.2, an assist % of 37 which is insanely high..we haven't had anyone with an assist % that high since Rondo. And Simmons did it on a usage % of just 13.

In this podcast, this guy Law Murray says Simmons was playing very well for the Clippers, but then had a knee injury which caused his play to dip a bit (the Simmons part is around the 1:03:00 mark)

Watch on YouTube

;t=4681s

As far as them letting him walk when the season ended, so what? The Clippers haven't won a single NBA title ever. Most of the moves they make are head scratchers. If they let a guy walk, I'm probably more likely to be interested in that player

Plus he's 29 yrs old.

And?

White is 31, JB is 28. Tatum, Pritchard, Hauser are all 27. Sounds like Simmons fits the timeline nicely.

Also, Simmons missed basically 3 entire seasons with injuries/holding/COVID, so the amount of wear and tear on his body is basically that of a 26 year old.

I don't see a future in it.

Maybe not..I don't think anyone is saying that Simmons is guaranteed to work out here. All I'm saying is why not give him a 2 year deal for the vets minimum with the 2nd year being a team option?

Maybe it won't work out. But maybe it will. If it does, he's a 29 yr old with the mileage of a 26 yr old so he could possibly play here for a few more years and help us win a ring - maybe even 2.

I mean, if we look at the teams that have won titles over the past 20 or so years, there's 2 things that pretty much all of them had:

a) ball movement, playmaking. Specifically, at least 1 guy with an assist% over 30 (Simmons gets like a 37% assist in his sleep..but no one else on the current Celtics roster has come close to 30)

He could really help our offense to be less stagnant, less of the my turn, your turn stuff with the Jays dribbling around and then settling for tough, off the dribble contested jumpers.

b) defense. With Jrue gone, we lost an elite defender. With Al gone, we lost a good defender. We need more defense or we likely won't win another ring with this group. Simmons could help us there..

Watch on YouTube

Guys like Jay Huff get moved for 1 or 2 future seconds all the time, I'd rather get a lesser name but younger big man and on a better development curve

Like who?

[Hal14]

Hard to keep up...is there any actual credible Simmons rumor or are we just spitballing since he's still out there?

https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/predicting-jonathan-kuminga-josh-giddey-best-remaining-nba-free-agents

Brett Siegel predicts Simmons will sign here..

[redslastlaugh]

Id much rather take a flier on Enrique Freeman who was in the mix of interesting PFs in last draft with Jonathan Mogbo, Anton Watson & Oso Ighodaro. Freeman looked lost last year in little minutes but was really looking nice in summer league. He reminds me of a smaller Anderson Varejoe with more 3pt shooting.

His motor and rebounding potential is really interesting and he has very strong character and work ethic intel. Seems like he just got caught in the numbers game in Indy and he's now a free agent.

For summer league his stats were: 5 games Vegas SL Stats: 16.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 71.8/55.6/64.5 Shooting Splits, 2.6 Stocks

Many scouts and evaluators thought that Freeman could potentially blossom into a small-ball big man during his time in the NBA, but he actually proved that his best role is likely as an energetic four who can complement a rangy, stretch big. Freeman can help protect the basket from the weak side and rotate to cover ground, but he’s not a traditional big man as far as a deterrent in the lane.

Having his mobility though to help in the lane while also stepping out to contest shooters is a boon for any squad, and his defensive effectiveness and energy really popped both in person and on film. Freeman has a long track record of excellent positional rebounding going back to his days in college, and his touch from three-point range continues to steadily climb over time.

Freeman isn’t the type of mismatch forward you want consistently trying to create offense from the perimeter, but his ball-handling has improved enough that he can attack a closeout if needed. He’s a net positive in terms of his assist-to-turnover numbers, and quietly has a nice, well-rounded skill set for a power forward.

Freeman’s cutting, rolling, and transition finishing fit the fast-paced nature of Indiana’s program built around Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Add in any shooting and defensive upside, and it would be a total surprise if Freeman ended up anywhere other than with the Pacers next season. He nailed his summer assignment and passed with flying colors.

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/2025-nba-summer-league-top-under

I'd much rather sign Enrique Freeman to a roster contract than Ben Simmons.

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

Stevens putting together a Championship Contender...

Read on Twitter

[GreenBlooded]

I don't see the fit of Ben Simmons.

solid defender and ball handler. Joeys going to have to earn his money now. C's will have to adjust to the chuck as many 3's as you can next year. Simons can get to the rack, it will be a solid group..... Lets see how good of a coach he really is!?

And if Simmons has the fire left to remake himself, having a passing, rebounding large body on the offensive end who can make crisp passes out to White, Brown, Hauser, Pritchard, and (maybe) Simons is a definite plus. He may not be a great rebounder, but if that becomes a role for him, he'll be better than KP at that at least.

Unfortunately, I think saying "if Simmons has the fire left" is just like saying "if Porzingus can stay healthy"

[Hal14]

Id much rather take a flier on Enrique Freeman who was in the mix of interesting PFs in last draft with Jonathan Mogbo, Anton Watson & Oso Ighodaro. Freeman looked lost last year in little minutes but was really looking nice in summer league. He reminds me of a smaller Anderson Varejoe with more 3pt shooting.

His motor and rebounding potential is really interesting and he has very strong character and work ethic intel. Seems like he just got caught in the numbers game in Indy and he's now a free agent.

For summer league his stats were: 5 games Vegas SL Stats: 16.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 71.8/55.6/64.5 Shooting Splits, 2.6 Stocks

Many scouts and evaluators thought that Freeman could potentially blossom into a small-ball big man during his time in the NBA, but he actually proved that his best role is likely as an energetic four who can complement a rangy, stretch big. Freeman can help protect the basket from the weak side and rotate to cover ground, but he’s not a traditional big man as far as a deterrent in the lane.

Having his mobility though to help in the lane while also stepping out to contest shooters is a boon for any squad, and his defensive effectiveness and energy really popped both in person and on film. Freeman has a long track record of excellent positional rebounding going back to his days in college, and his touch from three-point range continues to steadily climb over time.

Freeman isn’t the type of mismatch forward you want consistently trying to create offense from the perimeter, but his ball-handling has improved enough that he can attack a closeout if needed. He’s a net positive in terms of his assist-to-turnover numbers, and quietly has a nice, well-rounded skill set for a power forward.

Freeman’s cutting, rolling, and transition finishing fit the fast-paced nature of Indiana’s program built around Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Add in any shooting and defensive upside, and it would be a total surprise if Freeman ended up anywhere other than with the Pacers next season. He nailed his summer assignment and passed with flying colors.

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/2025-nba-summer-league-top-under

I'd much rather sign Enrique Freeman to a roster contract than Ben Simmons.

Oh c'mon now.

Freeman was the 50th pick in the draft. He was on the Pacers for a year, did nothing, got cut. He's 25 years old.

A guy who is 25 years old..at that old of an age and still hasn't done anything in the NBA, just got waived by a team in desperate need of some front court help with Turner gone and Jackson and Wiseman both coming off a torn achilles.

His odds of making it in the league at this point are very low.

Comparing him to Anderson Varejao? Freeman got cut at age 25, and hasn't done anything yet at the NBA level. At age 25, Varejao was in his 4th season as a rotation player in the NBA.

We're trying to win another championship here, while the Jays and White are still in their prime. We have plenty of development projects already with Minott, Walsh, Hugo, etc. Simmons gives us a guy who could possibly contribute to a championship team as early as the 2027 playoffs which is the playoffs we will hopefully be back in title contention. Simmons was ROY, all-defense, all-star and all-NBA. If he can just be a fraction of that player here in Boston, that's tremendous value for a vet min contract.

Lastly, summer league numbers mean basically nothing. Freeman is 25 years old..I would have hoped he would have played well in summer league..but clearly he wasn't *that* good or the Pacers wouldn't have waived him.

And unlike the Clippers, the Pacers are a team that actually has a good front office, one of the better front offices in the league which has made mostly really good moves over the past few years. So if they cut Freeman, he's probably not that good.

[Dogen]

solid defender and ball handler. Joeys going to have to earn his money now. C's will have to adjust to the chuck as many 3's as you can next year. Simons can get to the rack, it will be a solid group..... Lets see how good of a coach he really is!?

And if Simmons has the fire left to remake himself, having a passing, rebounding large body on the offensive end who can make crisp passes out to White, Brown, Hauser, Pritchard, and (maybe) Simons is a definite plus. He may not be a great rebounder, but if that becomes a role for him, he'll be better than KP at that at least.

Unfortunately, I think saying "if Simmons has the fire left" is just like saying "if Porzingus can stay healthy"

Yeah, so true. I don't really get it. The guy was the #1 pick, touted like Flagg as the best player in that draft. And he was good!

But I still don't get Fultz either. Another #1 pick, with a case of the "Yips". Make it make sense how the drive and ability is suddenly ... vanished in these guys.

So, buy low, sell high as they say. I'd take a chance for vet minimum that he's still better than Queta or Garza at general basketball.

[redslastlaugh]

I don't want him. He came over to the Clips played 18 games for them, averaged 3/4/3 on 43%/0/86% in 16 minutes, they were 3.4 points worse with him on versus off and they let him walk once the season ended.

Who cares about an 18 game sample size? That's nothing.
...
As far as them letting him walk when the season ended, so what? The Clippers haven't won a single NBA title ever. Most of the moves they make are head scratchers. If they let a guy walk, I'm probably more likely to be interested in that player

Yea, normally, 18 game sample would be too small but this is Ben Simmons. We have his whole 10 year career: a number one pick who wouldn't shoot, had complex nerve injury situation in his back ... and then wore an orange clown suit on the bench when he was sitting when we played the Nets in the playoffs under Ime.

Like, it's Ben Simmons! We don't have to go by the 18 games. I'm just saying the 18 games are just reinforcing it's same old same old. Zero 3pt makes and 7 total free throw attempts in 18 games.

Yea, the Clippers still make some so-so decisions, like Konan-Neiderhauser as a first round pick, but that's not swaying me. I am too familiar with the Ben Simmons experience. I think we can do better.

Guys like Jay Huff get moved for 1 or 2 future seconds all the time, I'd rather get a lesser name but younger big man and on a better development curve

Like who?

Enrique Freeman, a PF who I'd bet on to be better than Ben Simmons personally. Charles Bassey, I'd rather over Ben Simmons. Tristan Vukvevic looked like an NBA player in March, I'd take him. Those guys would be free to sign and if we can move Tillman, I'd rather them three. As far as go get a guy for 2 seconds, I really don't know how to answer because I don't know who's available.

I'm out on Ben Simmons. I could be wrong, maybe he'll be Shaun Livingston or something, a blue chipper who reinvents himself for a successful second act, but i would not be betting on it.

[redslastlaugh]

Amari Williams holding out for a max, lol

Stevens putting together a Championship Contender...

Read on Twitter

[redslastlaugh]

Id much rather take a flier on Enrique Freeman who was in the mix of interesting PFs in last draft with Jonathan Mogbo, Anton Watson & Oso Ighodaro. Freeman looked lost last year in little minutes but was really looking nice in summer league. He reminds me of a smaller Anderson Varejoe with more 3pt shooting.

His motor and rebounding potential is really interesting and he has very strong character and work ethic intel. Seems like he just got caught in the numbers game in Indy and he's now a free agent.

For summer league his stats were: 5 games Vegas SL Stats: 16.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 71.8/55.6/64.5 Shooting Splits, 2.6 Stocks

I'd much rather sign Enrique Freeman to a roster contract than Ben Simmons.

Oh c'mon now.

Freeman was the 50th pick in the draft. He was on the Pacers for a year, did nothing, got cut. He's 25 years old.

Yea, but once you are drafted, you are past the point of your draft slot mattering. OKC just won the title with Dort and Caruso (undrafted) and Hartenstein and Wiggins (picked 40-60) as four of their main players.

You never know why another team lets a guy go, but they are overflowing at PF with Siakam and Toppin and short at center. They have so many guys needing minutes at PF they can barely get minutes for jarace Walker who was their top 10 pick two drafts ago. And Freeman is a PF, thats his position. He can't play C.

And I watched some of the Pacers games in summer league myself and watched Freeman in particular on youtube highlights and (Im telling ya) I liked what I saw. Great motor and I think he'd be a better bet over the next 3-4 seasons than Ben Simmons.

We're trying to win another championship here, while the Jays and White are still in their prime. We have plenty of development projects already with Minott, Walsh, Hugo, etc. Simmons gives us a guy who could possibly contribute to a championship team as early as the 2027 playoffs which is the playoffs we will hopefully be back in title contention. Simmons was ROY, all-defense, all-star and all-NBA. If he can just be a fraction of that player here in Boston, that's tremendous value for a vet min contract.

Lastly, summer league numbers mean basically nothing. Freeman is 25 years old..I would have hoped he would have played well in summer league..but clearly he wasn't *that* good or the Pacers wouldn't have waived him.

I mean, you really think Ben Simmons is more likely to help a championship team at this point? I don't know. Ben Simmons seems to me to not have the competitive fire. You look at the 2008 team with Leon Powe and Big Baby, Id rather a young energy player even if he was not a high pick.

Though it's really unlikely to come down to Ben Simmons vs Enrique Freeman as the deciding element of the next championship, lets be honest, lol ... but I would rather Freeman, if I was picking between the two

edit: my dude Enrique FReeman SL highlight mix:

Watch on YouTube

[darrendaye]

Amari Williams holding out for a max, lol

Stevens putting together a Championship Contender...

Read on Twitter

Viktor Lakhin, I believe, is still out there. Could they consider the NBA deal route with Williams and use that 2-way on Lakhin? I've scoured and I believe he remains unsigned and there's some belief an injury sidelines him currently for a few months. Buuuuuutttt.. the profile is interesting considering current roster holes.

[redslastlaugh]

Amari Williams holding out for a max, lol

Stevens putting together a Championship Contender...

Viktor Lakhin, I believe, is still out there. Could they consider the NBA deal route with Williams and use that 2-way on Lakhin? I've scoured and I believe he remains unsigned and there's some belief an injury sidelines him currently for a few months. Buuuuuutttt.. the profile is interesting considering current roster holes.

If they move off Tillman or Niang/Simons/Hauser that a roster spot comes open and ducking the tax becomes possible then for sure. signing Amari to a roster contract would start at $1.27 million, the smallest cap number possible.

Athletic's John Hollinger referenced this possibility in his draft grade for the Amari Williams pick.

edit:

Hollinger’s analysis: The Celtics got this pick from Orlando in a swap for pick No. 32. I’m a big fan of centers who can pass, and while Williams has other limitations, he is a skilled operator from the high post. Boston also has a great track record of finding and developing fringe centers, witness Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta in recent years. Williams could begin the year on a roster contract if his minimum deal saves the Celtics enough money to help them skirt the luxury tax, but it will likely depend on what else happens with Boston’s roster this summer.

[Dogen]

Hard to keep up...is there any actual credible Simmons rumor or are we just spitballing since he's still out there?

We're spitballing because it beats vomiting due to just losing 5 of our top 8 players.

Rumors, however trivial or far-fetched, make the nausea a bit more manageable.

[Dogen]

Stevens putting together a Championship Contender...

Read on Twitter

Max with that LOOK:

[Hal14]

https://heavy.com/sports/nba/boston-celtics/nba-exec-celtics-anfernee-simons-situation/

Welp, guess I should just accept that Simons is not part of the long term plan and that it's inevitable he'll be traded - it's just a matter of when.

The belief around the NBA is that the Celtics will look to deal away Simons, that he is not part of the long-term plan for the Celtics when they get Jayson Tatum back after he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon next season.

But the belief, too, is that Boston is in no hurry to make a deal happen. “You never know, but the team they have now is probably the team they’ll start the year with,” one GM said. “They could get themselves involved in some blockbuster. But they’re not in a hurry to make that move (on Simons).”

Of course, the Celtics are just below the NBA’s second apron on the luxury tax, and they’d like to be much more comfortably below it. But the fact is, they do not need to get below it before the season starts–they can make it happen during the season, too.

The belief is that Simons can boost his trade value in the coming months. Portland has been trying to trade Simons for the better part of the past year and a half, despite having committed $100 million to him. Portland was disappointed in Simons’ inability to bolster other parts of his game beyond scoring.

Maybe that can happen with the Celtics.

“He is going to a team with a different coaching staff, a different front office, a whole different system of teaching,” the GM said. “Sometimes a situation changes and the light bulb goes on for a guy. That could be the case with him (Simons). He is still a young guy, and if he is willing to learn, he could come out a better player.

“So you wait to trade him to see if that happens.”

If another team has an injury or finds itself a scorer away from contending, the Celtics can step in with a player at the ready via trade.

“We’ve known for a long time that hard decisions were coming,” Stevens said Tuesday on the decisions to trade both Holiday and Porzingis, which both became official this week. “The second apron is why those trades happened. I think that is pretty obvious. And the basketball penalties associated with those are real. …

“So that was part of making the decision to push and put our chips on the table and go for the last two years.”

Simons figures to be next, eventually. But it is not likely to happen until the season is rolling.

So who is part of the long term plan? Tatum, Brown, White of course. Then Pritchard and Hauser makes 5 guys who were in our rotation when we just won banner 18..after that maybe Niang, maybe Queta could possibly be rotation guys when we are competing for a title again in 2027.

After that, you hope someone pops between Garza, Minott, Hugo, Walsh, Scheierman, Amari..maybe you bring in Ben Simmons. And maybe you get a solid player in return for Simons..

[Triple M]

Ben is just a name at this point.

We need to get guys with the age profile of 24 to 26 and squeeze more development out of them. Llke how we molded guys like Hauser, Kornet, etc.

Remember how mid we were in 21 then in the finals in 22. I think we can replicate that if we are smart. Ant Simons could be our Richardson or Brogdan that we can hopefully flip for our next White or Jrue

[redslastlaugh]

I don't know about that. Bulpett's source is just sayin Celts aren't about to trade him right now.

Look at Myles Turner. For at least five full years, it was accepted around the league that Turner was on the trading block. Even when Indy extended him a few yrs ago, the pundits were saying the extension was just to buy more time until the eventual trade. And then, after being in all those trade rumors, Turner never got traded... and he just left in free agency after ten years as a Pacer.

so who knows, lol

https://heavy.com/sports/nba/boston-celtics/nba-exec-celtics-anfernee-simons-situation/

Welp, guess I should just accept that Simons is not part of the long term plan and that it's inevitable he'll be traded - it's just a matter of when.