NBA franchises, in the thick of trade season, are scrambling to make roster adjustments just before the Feb. 5, 3 p.m. ET (noon PT) deadline.
As teams search for ideal suitors and partners to green-light prospective trades, the Boston Celtics have beefed up their frontcourt after making a move to receive center Nikola Vucevic and a second-round draft pick from theChicago Bullsin exchange for guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick,according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Vucevic, who stands at 6-foot-9, 260-pounds, adds another big body to the Celtics' frontline. He joins a front court that includes Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Sam Hauser, Xavier Tillman and Jordan Walsh.
Not only do they add another big, but they get someone who they can fill into their roster and will find his way. Vucevic can score in multiple ways.
Vucevic isn't a big who demands the ball, just knows what to do when gets it. He can score like a traditional big in the post, with his back to the basket. He has the capability to face up and shoot, or step back for three. If he's not getting the ball, he'll go and get an offensive rebound and putback.
Vucevic, 35, averaged 16.9 points, nine rebounds and 3.8 assists in 48 games played with the Bulls. He shot 50.5% from the field and showed an ability to stretch the floor, shooting 37.6% from the three-point arc.
Vucevic joins his fourth team in his 15 NBA seasons. He was drafted out of USC by thePhiladelphia 76erswith the 16th overall pick of the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. Vucevic played nine seasons with theOrlando Magicand the previous five seasons in Chicago before being traded to Boston on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The Celtics (31-18) currently have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and sit 5.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons atop of the list.
Nikola Vucevic contract details
Vucevic signed a three-year, $60 million veteran extension contract with the Bulls in 2023. He's in the final year of that deal and is owed $21.4 million. Vucevic becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.
Nikola Vucevic career stats
The Celtics add a guy who has averaged a double-double for the entirety of his career. Vucevic's career numbers include 17.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists. From the field, he shoots at a 49.8% rate, including 35.1% from deep. He's a career 77.3% free throw shooter.
Nikola Vucevic highlights
Bulls load up the guard position
As for Chicago, they add another guard to their locker room. Simons joins a stacked team at his position including Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White andrecently acquired via trade Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley.
Simons, 26, is an eighth-year guard who was selected right out of high school, IMG Academy, with the 24th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2018 NBA draft.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Simons has developed his game into becoming a formidable scorer who can light up a box score in spurts. His three-point shooting has stood out, as he connects on 39.5% of threes per game this season.
After years in Portland and playing behind the tutelage of Damian Lillard, Simons has grown to master his shot off the dribble, whether a side-step, step-back or snatch-back into his jumper.
Simons has proven that he's talented enough to be a starter in the NBA. As a starter for three seasons in Portland from 2022 to 2025, Simons averaged 20.7 points, 4.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 178 games during that span.
He's averaged 14.2 points on 44% field goal shooting and 39.5% on three-point field goals so far this season with the Celtics.
Simons goes from being a part of the third-best team in the East to a 24-26 Bulls team that is looking to make waves for a playoff push. They currently have the ninth-best record in the Eastern Conference, which would give them a play-in tournament berth.
Anfernee Simons contract details
Simons is in the final year of a four-year, $100 million contract he signed with Portland in 2022. He'll earn $27.6 million this season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in July.
Anfernee Simons career stats
Simons averages 14.9 points and 3.2 assists for his career. His shooting splits are 43.2% on field goals, 38.2% on three-point shots and 88.1% from the charity stripe.
Anfernee Simons highlights
Experts provide feedback, thoughts on trade
NBA experts and analysts broke down the Vucevic-Simons trade on ESPN following the news.
Former NBA guard and ESPN analyst Iman Shumpert:
"I love it. I'm a Josh Giddey guy. I like the way he plays. He has an array of moves and finishes that he likes to do and he's a slasher-type player. I like that (the Bulls) have a ball dominant guy now that doesn't mind holding on to the ball and waiting until the very end to get us something. And he's young Dame. I see his game and I see how much time they spent in the gym together. I think it's remarkable that he scores the ball in a similar way that Damian Lillard does. And that's all I feel I'm getting, when I get him. You see this one-dribble, pound-dribble to the step back, he's able to get in there and do the floaters, and he's got height on him. He doesn't have to use a lot of dribbles. But he doesn't mind. I think he's a willing passer. It's hard to find a willing passer in the NBA, and if you can get him the right pick and roll, he's a dangerous guy to bring to a team like that."
Los Angeles Sparks' forward and ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike:
"You said the word 'remarkable.' That's what I'm using to describe Boston this year. A lot of people thought this was going to be a gap year. It's turning out to be a very, very solid, a good year for Boston Celtics. They're third in the East. And now they get a big that is very important for them, especially if they're gonna go up and try to make some noise in the postseason. And with [Vucevic], he fits that [Joe] Mazzulla system. Y'all, that guy can shoot. He's shooting, I think, 37% from three. He's big and strong. He's not afraid. He doesn't really run away from physicality. Look at this right here. Knock down. Joe [Mazzulla] was like hmm, this could work for me. I can do something with this. This is a good step in the right direction for a team that we thought, 'oh, they were selling off pieces' A couple [years] after the championship, it was difficult after Jayson Tatum's injury. Now you built back in a way that I'm actually quite surprised at how quick the turnaround is."
NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks:
"Well, to get something, you got to give up something. I mean, Anfernee Simon's had been pretty good with with Boston, sixth man numbers here. There was a somewhat of a, I think, more of a void for the playoffs, because Neemias Queta has been pretty good, holding down the fort for Boston right now. But you get an established player and Nikola Vucevic. Double expiring contracts, so there's financial savings here. But I think this move is made for more for April and May, less for the rest of the regular-season."
ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst
"So this Tatum is a outlier, a major thing we don't know about. Vucevic is the type of player that Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, they won a championship with it. Simons' was playing great. He just had a wild, incredible January. For Chicago, I assume they're making this trade because they intend to pay Anfernee Simons. Just as they made the trade for Jaden Ivey, they intend to pay him. This is again, 'pre-agency', and now he's going to open up 'pre-agency' for Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, who was probably, I would say, almost certainly, both of them strongly going to be elsewhere by Thursday, if not by the end of today."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Nikola Vucevic trade details: Celtics pull off deal with Bulls
