Anfernee Simons' Celtics Future Still Uncertain After Recent Trade Arrival

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 3:45 PM ET

The Boston Celtics have agreed to trade Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks.

Simons will make $27.7 million next season in the final year of his contract.

The Celtics are no longer a second-apron team after agreeing to trade Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who got shipped to the Atlanta Hawks.

Simons played in 70 games for the Trail Blazers in 2024-25. He averaged 19.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 42.6% from the field, 36.3% from beyond the arc and 90.2% from the free-throw line.

The Celtics may not be a title contender next season since superstar Jayson Tatum could miss the entire campaign recovering from his Achilles injury.

With that said, Simons may not even play one game with Boston, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

“I think players like Sam Hauser, Anfernee Simons, we could see potentially being discussed even more,” Charania said on the Pat McAfee Show.

The 26-year-old Simons was the 24th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He has career averages of 15.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Simons won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2021. He's a talented scorer and shooter but not a great defender like Holiday.

"The question will be whether he fits defensively," Zach Harper of The Athletic opined. "He’s not nearly the defender Holiday is, even compared to last season’s slowed-down version of the six-time All-Defense selection, who battled injuries. That will be Joe Mazzulla’s challenge: Getting Simons to move as necessary for Celtics guards to maintain teamwide intensity.

"Even though we are seeing the Celtics shed some salary, it doesn’t mean they’re going to be bad. They’ll still compete and be a playoff team. They just won’t look like a 60-win monster."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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