NBA transactions have been flying over the past couple of days ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline. Big names like Anthony Davis and James Harden on the move, and a flurry of trades re-shaping the NBA landscape.
Among them is the Anfernee Simons trade from the Celtics to Chicago for big man Nikola Vucevic. The Bulls subsequently traded guard Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets, suggesting they were moving on from their seventh-year guard to make room for Simons.
That might not be the case, though.
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times, Simons could be moved again.
Ayo Dosunmu, and newly-acquired guards Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons are still trade candidates, per source. The Bulls still feel like they have a lot of work to do … now and carrying on into July.
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) February 4, 2026
If Simons is moved, he could be moved again by tomorrow’s deadline, or he could be carried into the summer and moved in a sign-and-trade. Simons’ contract is expiring, so he could also just walk.
The deal with Boston is not official yet, so a re-routing of Simons could simply turn into a three-team trade. The advantage to doing that for Chicago would be the ability to add players to the outgoing package, something that wouldn’t be allowed if Simons is officially acquired, becomes a Chicago Bull, and is then sent out in a second deal. NBA rules allow a recently acquired player to be traded again on his own, but they do not allow a player to be aggregated into a bigger trade.
This may be why the deal hasn’t been announced. It’s not uncommon for a team whose motivation is something other than acquiring a specific player to agree to a framework and then explore the possibility of rerouting him. Whatever Chicago’s motivation for moving Vucevic, if it’s not specifically to keep Simons, then exploring a third team to get what they’re looking for makes sense. If they can’t find something in the end, they will just come back to Boston and execute the agreed-upon trade.
For example, Jock Landale was part of the Jarren Jackson, Jr. trade to Utah, but Atlanta was added today as a third team to send Landale there.
It’s an interesting saga for Simons, who averaged 14.2 points per game in Boston in a sixth man role. It’s a drop in raw scoring from the last three seasons in Portland, but a deeper look suggests the slip isn’t as bad as it seems. Looking at his per-36 scoring, which normalizes the numbers evenly across a projected 36 minutes of play, Simons averaged 20.8 points, less than half a point below last year’s average. And when pace of play is factored in, his per-100 possessions scoring this season is 29.1 points, an increase over last season.
His efficiency was also better in his short Boston stint. His 57.9% true shooting is above his career average and near his peak in Portland. Simons’ effective field goal percentage was at its highest (55.5%) in four seasons.
So Simons ended up thriving in his sixth man role in Boston, which led a lot of people to wonder if he could stick around at a reduced rate moving forward. Brad Stevens decided to go in a different direction, which leaves Simons future in the league in some doubt, at least when it comes to what role he’ll play.
Will one of the few teams with cap space give him more than the $15.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception? Or will that be the most he’s offered on the open market? Will a team see Simons as a starter and trade for him to acquire his Bird Rights so they can pay him without using an exception.
Simons has proven that he’s not just an explosive scorer in Boston. He improved his defense as well, and he was loved in the locker room.
“Anfernee has all the respect in the world,” Jaylen Brown said after Boston’s win in Dallas. “He’s won us some games. He’s just a great, great person, great kid on and off the floor, just humble. I hope he gets everything that he’s looking for, just because he just fit right in with this group of guys in our locker room. He could have had different thoughts and thought differently, and his energy could have been different, and he was a great teammate and did everything he needed to do that we asked him and more.”
He’ll land somewhere, and chances are he’ll make another positive impact.
