Celtics Insider Believes Team Shouldn’t Trade Star Guard

The Boston Celtics have had a depressingly busy offseason.

After six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, Boston's best player, tore his Achilles tendon during the team's second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, team president Brad Stevens decided to make some cost-cutting moves.

Stevens traded away a pair of starters, two-time All-Star guard Jrue Holiday and one-time All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis, and let free agent center Luke Kornet walk. He's also primed to allow another free agent big man, Al Horford, to leave.

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Holiday, a six-time All-Defensive Teamer, was shipped off to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for scoring guard Anfernee Simons. Porzingis was sent to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team deal. Although Boston brought back stretch four Georges Niang and a second-round draft pick, Stevens soon sent both Niang and the pick (plus an additional second-rounder) to the Utah Jazz in exchange for a trade exception and two-way player RJ Luis Jr. Stevens also traded away point guard JD Davison to save some coin.

The Celtics brought in free agents Chris Boucher, Luka Garza and Josh Minnott.

All this was done with an eye towards getting below the NBA's punitive second luxury tax apron. Now, Boston is hovering a couple million bucks above the first. Should the team move on from Simons' expiring $27. million deal?

Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe argues in favor of the move.

"The fact that Simons is still in Boston and his expiring contract is not with some other club is an indication the Celtics plan to implement him in what will be a fascinating season. Jayson Tatum is rehabilitating from his torn Achilles’ and won’t be available for months, and the team will not allow him to rush back."

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Washburn opines that Boston should treat this season like an audition year for Simons, and see if he can potentially help the team long-term when Tatum is healthy.

"But moving on from a 20-point scorer who just turned 26 would not be astute management. And while there is a market for a player of Simons’s talents, the Celtics need to get value for their future deals," Washburn writes. "But Stevens said in July that he was content with the current roster, and Simons’s presence at pre-training-camp workouts is a sign that there is a plan in place for him. It’s [head coach Joe] Mazzulla’s decision on whether he should start in the backcourt along with Derrick White or come off the bench as the sixth man, with perhaps Payton Pritchard getting a promotion to the starting lineup."

Last year as Portland's full-time starting point guard (he had been the team's starting two-guard the year prior), Simons averaged 19.3 points on .426/.363/.902 shooting splits, 4.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 70 contests. His defensive issues may give Stevens and Mazzulla pause long term — or his abilities as a scorer could also endear him to the team's key decision makers.

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