BOSTON — Anfernee Simons is getting a fresh start in Chicago after being dealt away by the Celtics at trade deadline. However, the point guard is facing with a unique problem in his new home.

The Bulls traded away eight players last week with seven deals in total, making Simons one of seven new faces in uniform floor the Bulls this past week. The heavy turnover is creating some opportunity for Simons as he earned his fourth start in the Bulls backcourt on Wednesday night in Boston.

“He’s been great,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “I really have always admired him as a player. Obviously, he’s from Florida, saw him play in high school. I thought he played really, really well in Portland, and then I think even coming in from Portland where he was starting to come off the bench here, you know, he was a guy that really provided a lot of offense for them. High IQ player, obviously he can score on a lot of different levels. He’s another guy I think because of his field and his basketball IQ, he can kind of fit in and figure things out pretty quickly.”

Simons struggled in his return to Boston on Wednesday night, scoring just seven points in the loss while playing with a host of new faces. The lack of continuity across the Bulls roster right now is presenting a different kind of issue for Simons despite his bigger minutes, according to Donovan.

“I think it’s been a lot for him because not only is he necessarily coming to a new team,” Donovan said. “He’s coming to really an entirely new team with guys that really are coming in at the same time he is, so they’re all getting to know each other, but he’s done a good job up to this point in time. I’ve enjoyed being around him.”

Simons will have a week now to get more settled in Chicago as the All-Star Break hits. His impact in Boston is still felt, as Joe Mazzulla shared kind words about his former guard after the Celtics’ win on Wednesday.

“I mean, he didn’t have to come in and accept what we needed from him, and be open-minded and grow, and we wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in right now if he didn’t help us win games.,” Mazzulla said. “So I think the humility and mindset that he brought into the role that we needed him to play, but also keep the confidence in who he is as a player and help us win games, and his ability to want to get it right on both ends of the floor.

“I think his commitment to the defensive end and his ability to play whether it was coming off the bench, whether it was starting, whether it was playing 14, 15 minutes straight, his care factor is really high, and he wanted to do whatever it takes to win. So that’s what I remember him for, and to this day, in this season, there’s a reason why we’re in this position, and he’s part of that.”

The Celtics won’t see Simons and the Bulls again this season with Wednesday night being the final matchup of the regular season series.