Three Impending Celtics Free Agents Unlikely to Return Next Season

The Boston Celtics will reportedly be a buyer at the NBA trade deadline "if it makes sense." Brad Stevens has said he doesn't want to put a ceiling on this roster, meaning the team could pivot from rebuilding to making a splash on a moment's notice.

That means players on expiring contracts could be the first to go when the trades go down. Being that this was supposed to be a down year, Stevens signed several low-cost players with a high chance of being used as trade fodder by February 5. He also traded for a big expiring contract meant to be re-routed at some point to lower the tax bill. That deal may be used for different purposes now.

Stevens maintained enough flexibility to move things around. Here are the three players who won't make it to the 2026-27 season, who will either be moved by the deadline or let go in free agency.

Anfernee Simons

Anfernee Simons was never meant to be a long-term stay in Boston. He's making things easier for Stevens as his one main skill, scoring, continues to fall off after he averaged 15.5 points on a 43/40/78 shooting split in December. Simons has owned a negative defensive on/off split for most of his career, but he's not even the offensive weapon he was just weeks ago.

Merely meant to make the money work in the outbound Jrue Holiday trade, there was hope that Simons could play his way into maximum trade value. He peaked at the wrong time, though, and Joe Mazzulla now has a balancing act with playing him enough to build trade value, but not overexposing him on the defensive side of the ball. The last thing Mazzulla needs is for the offense to lose flow because Simons is trying to play for a new contract. That's something you run the risk of when building a roster with more than a few designed short-term players.

Xavier Tillman

Xavier Tillman was an Al Horford protégé when the Dominican future Hall of Famer wore a Celtics uniform. Now, he's the odd man out in the team's big man rotation because of the team's surplus of playable wings.

As MassLive's Brian Robb pointed out, Mazzulla is giving the spot Tillman seemed set for once his former front court teammates, like Horford, Luke Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis, were shown the door, to Josh Minott. That has opened up opportunities for Hugo Gonzales and Baylor Scheierman at the 3.

Defensive switchability was a hallmark of the team's title run. Mazzulla wants to see if this year's roster has that at the 3 and the 4.

"Tillman is a known commodity at this point so it makes sense to invest more in the unknown rather than Tillman at this point for the future," Robb wrote.

So far, Mazzulla is finding that. And yet, Tillman is nowhere to be found of late. He's played more than six minutes in just three of his last eight appearances.

The writing is on the wall for Tillman. It's just not clear yet if it says he'll be traded by the deadline or have his rights renounced this summer.

Chris Boucher

Simply put, Chris Boucher doesn't make shots. Forget about spacing the floor. He hasn't made shots with regularity anywhere on the floor. Boston is 13.8 points per 100 possessions better when the former Oregon Duck is off the floor, proving his struggles are clearly on both ends.

The Celtics aren't going to fetch much for Boucher on the trade market. It's unlikely he'd be traded anywhere he'd be getting minutes, unless the team trading for him is short on healthy bodies. The play is most likely renouncing his rights the second Stevens can.

Boucher was a misstep. Maybe he'll get a chance to prove that's not the case if there are injuries ahead of him. It feels like Stevens is more likely to cut him, upgrade Amari Williams' two-way contract to a full-time, several-season pact, and try to find a gem from the G League or free agent scrap heap.