Celtics 2025-26, Off-Season/Training Camp Thread

[bucknersrevenge]

Simons has an uphill climb for sure. These stats do not paint him in a flattering light. Full stop. He might have to set the training camp on fire to make Joe's head turn. But again, Brad saw something.

Brad saw a way to get off of Jrue Holiday's long term money.

He could've done that at any point. Could've waited and maybe acquired a guy with more "re-trade value". Even after he lost the 2 2nd round picks in the deal, he STILL chose Simons. It's not as reductive as you're suggesting.

[Fierce1]

It's true there were reports that multiple teams were interested in Jrue.

Brad opted for the Simons deal for Jrue.

[bucknersrevenge]

My read on Pritchard is that the competitor in him doesn't seek nor need a reward. A competitor seeks competition. Iron sharpens iron and all that. Pritchard wants to earn it every time. I love that about him. And fwiw, while some of my more recent posts might appear to be more favorable to Simons, In the interest of transparency, I think it's fair to set the stage a little.

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Simons has an uphill climb for sure. These stats do not paint him in a flattering light. Full stop. He might have to set the training camp on fire to make Joe's head turn. But again, Brad saw something.

Brad saw something?

He's not the one who drafted him 24th overall, even though Simons played 0 college games (Pritchard got drafted 26th overall after playing in 144 college games)

Maybe some of the efficiency numbers for Simons were because he was the no. 1 option (1st on POR in FGA/game last season) on a crappy team that was tanking?

Yes Brad saw something in Simons that made him want to acquire him for HIM, not just as a means of moving Jrue. Where Simons was drafted has nothing to do. And yes I think Brad is taking a shot at a "misfit toy" here to see if he has any chance of reaching his ceiling. And yes, Simons has an uphill climb to show that he can be more than what he's been so far. I'm not sure what you're arguing here, if you're arguing. Maybe I misread this post.

[Fierce1]

What Brad saw was 8-9 3pt attempts per game from Simons.

[colincb]

Simons has an uphill climb for sure. These stats do not paint him in a flattering light. Full stop. He might have to set the training camp on fire to make Joe's head turn. But again, Brad saw something.

Brad saw a way to get off of Jrue Holiday's long term money.

... for $27MM, and Portland saw a way to get off a player they no longer wanted for a 35-year-old with 3 years and $104 MM left. TBs had the 5th best DRating over the last 36 games, so I can understand their attraction to Jrue. I've yet to hear media members following the TBs say that Simons wasn't a defensive liability, and he had the worst DRating of any player receiving significant minutes on the TBs every year. Worse than Dame.

He'll be fine as a microwave off the bench, and he'll get plenty of minutes in that role, but he's not a long-term answer as a starter.

[bucknersrevenge]

Simons has an uphill climb for sure. These stats do not paint him in a flattering light. Full stop. He might have to set the training camp on fire to make Joe's head turn. But again, Brad saw something.

Brad saw a way to get off of Jrue Holiday's long term money.

... for $27MM, and Portland saw a way to get off a player they no longer wanted for a 35-year-old with 3 years and $104 MM left. TBs had the 5th best DRating over the last 36 games, so I can understand their attraction to Jrue. I've yet to hear media members following the TBs say that Simons wasn't a defensive liability, and he had the worst DRating of any player receiving significant minutes on the TBs every year. Worse than Dame.

He'll be fine as a microwave off the bench, and he'll get plenty of minutes in that role, but he's not a long-term answer as a starter.

Brad's acquisition of him seems to suggest that he's open to the possibility, no matter how small it may appear. Brad is Mr. "I don't put limits on players". That philosophy is why he hasn't traded JB despite the desires of a loud segment of fans to do so.

[colincb]

Brad saw a way to get off of Jrue Holiday's long term money.

... for $27MM, and Portland saw a way to get off a player they no longer wanted for a 35-year-old with 3 years and $104 MM left. TBs had the 5th best DRating over the last 36 games, so I can understand their attraction to Jrue. I've yet to hear media members following the TBs say that Simons wasn't a defensive liability, and he had the worst DRating of any player receiving significant minutes on the TBs every year. Worse than Dame.

He'll be fine as a microwave off the bench, and he'll get plenty of minutes in that role, but he's not a long-term answer as a starter.

Brad's acquisition of him seems to suggest that he's open to the possibility, no matter how small it may appear. Brad is Mr. "I don't put limits on players". That philosophy is why he hasn't traded JB despite the desires of a loud segment of fans to do so.

I think it's more likely that it was the best offer Brad got.

[Fierce1]

... for $27MM, and Portland saw a way to get off a player they no longer wanted for a 35-year-old with 3 years and $104 MM left. TBs had the 5th best DRating over the last 36 games, so I can understand their attraction to Jrue. I've yet to hear media members following the TBs say that Simons wasn't a defensive liability, and he had the worst DRating of any player receiving significant minutes on the TBs every year. Worse than Dame.

He'll be fine as a microwave off the bench, and he'll get plenty of minutes in that role, but he's not a long-term answer as a starter.

Brad's acquisition of him seems to suggest that he's open to the possibility, no matter how small it may appear. Brad is Mr. "I don't put limits on players". That philosophy is why he hasn't traded JB despite the desires of a loud segment of fans to do so.

I think it's more likely that it was the best offer Brad got.

We'll never really know that for sure.

[Fierce1]

I think the fans who don't want Simons to play a single game for the Cs are the ones that want the Cs to end up with a lottery pick in 2026.

Cs are missing 27 ppg from JT.

If Simons can partially cover that void, the Cs would certainly be a playoff team.

If it's only JB and White, Cs will mostly likely struggle winning 40 games.

So I don't think it's about money or the cap situation, to some Cs fans.

This is just about wanting a lottery pick.

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[Fierce1]

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Totally fair.

[djFan71]

I think the fans who don't want Simons to play a single game for the Cs are the ones that want the Cs to end up with a lottery pick in 2026.

Cs are missing 27 ppg from JT.

If Simons can partially cover that void, the Cs would certainly be a playoff team.

If it's only JB and White, Cs will mostly likely struggle winning 40 games.

So I don't think it's about money or the cap situation, to some Cs fans.

This is just about wanting a lottery pick.

I don’t understand why people feel the need to assign hidden motives to other posters. Plenty of people have flat out said they want a lotto pick. Others have different reasons for wanting to trade Simons. They’ve been laid out multiple times. If you disagree, fine. That’s what we’re here for. But just cuz you don’t agree doesn’t mean people are being dishonest about their reasons.

It’s pretty weird, tbh, how you can’t say you would prefer to trade this particular guy without having your motives questioned when we’ve talked about trading darn near everyone else at one point or another.

[Andre3822]

Can we get under the aprons and stuff until the trade deadline?

Let Simons cook until then, I don't think he loses any of his current non-existent value in our setting.

[Fierce1]

Can we get under the aprons and stuff until the trade deadline?

Let Simons cook until then, I don't think he loses any of his current non-existent value in our setting.

Yes.

[Fierce1]

I think the fans who don't want Simons to play a single game for the Cs are the ones that want the Cs to end up with a lottery pick in 2026.

Cs are missing 27 ppg from JT.

If Simons can partially cover that void, the Cs would certainly be a playoff team.

If it's only JB and White, Cs will mostly likely struggle winning 40 games.

So I don't think it's about money or the cap situation, to some Cs fans.

This is just about wanting a lottery pick.

I don’t understand why people feel the need to assign hidden motives to other posters. Plenty of people have flat out said they want a lotto pick. Others have different reasons for wanting to trade Simons. They’ve been laid out multiple times. If you disagree, fine. That’s what we’re here for. But just cuz you don’t agree doesn’t mean people are being dishonest about their reasons.

It’s pretty weird, tbh, how you can’t say you would prefer to trade this particular guy without having your motives questioned when we’ve talked about trading darn near everyone else at one point or another.

I'm not referring to you because we already had our discussion about Simons.

As for trading Simons, I'm not against trading Simons.
I just don't want to trade Simons without seeing how he fits in with the Cs.

A number of Celtic fans are just using the trade Simons argument because what they really want is for the Cs to tank.

[bucknersrevenge]

... for $27MM, and Portland saw a way to get off a player they no longer wanted for a 35-year-old with 3 years and $104 MM left. TBs had the 5th best DRating over the last 36 games, so I can understand their attraction to Jrue. I've yet to hear media members following the TBs say that Simons wasn't a defensive liability, and he had the worst DRating of any player receiving significant minutes on the TBs every year. Worse than Dame.

He'll be fine as a microwave off the bench, and he'll get plenty of minutes in that role, but he's not a long-term answer as a starter.

Brad's acquisition of him seems to suggest that he's open to the possibility, no matter how small it may appear. Brad is Mr. "I don't put limits on players". That philosophy is why he hasn't traded JB despite the desires of a loud segment of fans to do so.

I think it's more likely that it was the best offer Brad got.

May or may not be true, but let's say that you're right. Why not hold him til the deadline and move him then when he might be the missing piece in some team's championship or playoff push? There's no rush to move him. We clearly could get below the tax without moving him. There may have been a more robust market later. Since when does Brad rush deals when he has the entire season to get below the line?

[Celts17Pride]

Simons has an uphill climb for sure. These stats do not paint him in a flattering light. Full stop. He might have to set the training camp on fire to make Joe's head turn. But again, Brad saw something.

Brad saw a way to get off of Jrue Holiday's long term money.

He could've done that at any point. Could've waited and maybe acquired a guy with more "re-trade value". Even after he lost the 2 2nd round picks in the deal, he STILL chose Simons. It's not as reductive as you're suggesting.

Simons was probably the only deal where Stevens didn't have to take back any money past this year. 15 minutes after the deal was completed news was out that the Celtics wanted to move Simons. Simons hasn't come off the bench in 3+ years and now news is leaking that Simons shouldn't even think about starting. Don't believe the Celtics have any interest in Simons. I predict in 3 weeks this will all be over when trade restrictions are lifted. You will see the rumors pick up the beginning of September.

[Celts17Pride]

I think the fans who don't want Simons to play a single game for the Cs are the ones that want the Cs to end up with a lottery pick in 2026.

No, it's because Simons is a one on one chucker who doesn't play a lick of defense. Not anywhere close to a winning player.

[Celts17Pride]

Can we get under the aprons and stuff until the trade deadline?

Let Simons cook until then, I don't think he loses any of his current non-existent value in our setting.

Much harder to trade a $28 million player at the deadline. Off-season is much easier.

[Celticlifer]

I think you underestimate the desire of teams with a real hope of winning it all to go for it at the deadline. That and injuries. I can see many contenders that might have suffered an injury needing a player like Simons. I can also see a team like the spurs, magic or cavs feeling like they are one piece away. Creatively creating cap space to get to a championship is a time-honored tradition.