The Boston Celtics acquired a talented player in Anfernee Simons, but their primary intention when they traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for him was to save money. Since then, there’s been plenty of skepticism revolving around whether he’ll play one game for the Celtics.

Simons has remained with the team since they acquired him back in June, but the Celtics haven’t made a big deal out of it. That has led to plenty of rumors about their plan with Simons.

Does a General Manager Believe Celtics Are Willing To Discuss Anfernee Simons in Trade Talks?

A general manager was blunt while talking with Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett about where the Celtics stand on a potential trade with Simons.

“They’re still very much willing to talk about Simons,” the general manager told Bulpett.

A rival front office added that trading Simons would be difficult if the Celtics went that route.

“Anfernee Simons makes $27 plus million,” he said. “Who’s got room to put that in their cap? And he’s up after this year, so the Celtics aren’t going to want to take back anything that would load in more salary of less flexibility.”

“I think, unless they are presented with some sweetheart situation, the most likely time for Simons to get moved… again, if he even does… would be at the trade deadline,” he told Bulpett.

Sources say Celtics still open to moving Anfernee Simons. Others wonder if they should be so quick to pull the trigger.

Exec: “As the kids say, he’s a bucket. He is. That dude is a bucket. He can really fill it up.”

Says he’ll be even better in EC.https://t.co/GbGCyqZWz2

— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) August 28, 2025

The funny thing about all of this is that Simons’ trade availability all stems from the Celtics simply wanting to save money and nothing else. If he were making $20 million or less, there probably wouldn’t be any problems keeping him from Boston’s end.

He can score and score a lot. The Celtics likely won’t have Jayson Tatum for the whole season, so having someone like that in the rotation could fill the void a bit. Though to be fair, Tatum’s absence goes far beyond how many points he can score.

The Celtics will take a notable step back this season because of unfortunate circumstances. Without Tatum, they have indicated that they still plan to compete as much as possible, whether they have Simons or not. There’s a good case for him to be there from a basketball standpoint and a good case for them to trade him from a salary cap standpoint.