Why Celtics Will Miss Anfernee Simons After Bittersweet Trade
Simons will be missed in Boston
Anfernee Simons was only with the Boston Celtics for seven months, but he still managed to make quite an impact on them in little more than half a season.
When the Celtics acquired him last July in their Jrue Holiday trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, everyone knew he could score. His defense was suspect, however, and he wasn’t expected to stick around given that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
With one foot already out the door, Simons could have coasted in Boston. He didn’t have to buy into Joe Mazzulla’s crazy practices or work hard to improve his defense.
But he did. Simons did everything that was asked of him and more, even moving to the bench to accommodate Payton Pritchard’s move to the starting lineup.
Simons checked his ego at the door, put in the work and did what he could to help the team win games. He improved as the season progressed, ending his Celtics tenure on a high note with 27 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, tying his second-highest total of the season before getting dealt to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
“Ant” drew rave reviews from Pritchard and Jaylen Brown following his departure, showing how much he meant to them and the team. Boston fan Bill Simmons said he’ll miss the veteran shooting guard, who “won him over.”
Simons won over teammates, fans and the media. On X, Celtics beat reporter Noa Dalzell had plenty of praise for him.
“Really can’t emphasize enough how impressive Anfernee Simon’s tenure with the Celtics was,” Dalzell wrote on X. “Such a gifted scorer, improved as a defender, always said the right thing. Confident he will always be remembered fondly by Celtics fans.”
In a follow-up post, she added that Simons was “an absolute pleasure to cover.”
Trading Simons made dollars and sense for Boston, saving the team from significant luxury tax penalties while also netting a quality big man in Nikola Vucevic. However, losing Simons is still a tough blow for Celtics fans, who will miss his “Anferno” performances off the bench.
