Should the Spurs Trade for Celtics Sharpshooter Anfernee Simons?

Could the San Antonio Spurs add another Sixth Man of the Year candidate to their roster at the NBA trade deadline?

Don't expect the Silver and Black to disrupt their successful core or deplete their treasure trove of draft capital this early in Victor Wembanyama's ascent, but if they can make a move on the margins to strengthen their rotation and address an area of need it could help them prepare for their first playoff push since 2018.

Celtics sharpshooter Anfernee Simons presents a golden opportunity to do just that, and Boston has about 27.5 million reasons why the deal would work for them.

Let's start with Simons the player, who is averaging 14 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He makes 2.6 triples per game, as many as Devin Vassell who leads the Spurs, and his efficiency at 39.5% ties him with Keldon Johnson who leads San Antonio.

Simons is the kind of guy who can make a play himself or get open off the ball depending on what the situation calls for, and seems to be thriving in a bench role where his light shines Celtic green and his defensive limitations aren't punished so severely.

The threat that Simons poses from distance exerts a gravitational force that pulls defenses away from the basket, which is something San Antonio could use more of as they seek to create space for Victor Wembanyama and the drive-first guard trio of De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. He's a sniper who can catch fire at any moment, as he did in a season-high 39-point performance a few weeks ago.

So why would Boston trade him? Simons is making meaningful contributions on a Celtics team that has overperformed expectations to an astounding degree. Many thought this would be a tanking gap year after Jayson Tatum's achilles tear, akin to what the Indiana Pacers are trudging through, but Jaylen Brown is playing his way into MVP conversations as the team sits a shocking third place in the wide-open East.

Simons has no doubt been a part of that surprising success, but the Celtics have their own areas they want to improve. According to Chris Haynes, Boston is shopping Simons in hopes of reinforcing their frontcourt.

“Once you’ve been in the league for eight years, the trade rumors become constant…control what you can control,” the 26-year-old Simons said at a charity event.

Boston may try to use Simons to bring a starting-caliber center in, but any team trading a player like that would likely want a young player or draft pick attached to Simons' expiring contract worth $27,678,571.

According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, the Celtics had discussed sending Simons, a first-round pick, and a first-round pick swap to Los Angeles for Ivica Zubac earlier in the year, but the talks went nowhere as the Clippers improved.

"Earlier this season, well before Boston surged into second place in the East, the Chicago Bulls inquired on the possibility of trading center Nikola Vucevic for Simons and a Celtics first-round pick, which would have lowered Boston’s tax bill, but the Celtics weren’t interested," Scotto reported.

That raises the biggest reason for the Celtics to move Simons, which is the same reason they acquired Simons this offseason in the first place. With a low chance of winning a title, the front office wanted to reduce their sky-high luxury tax bill and maximize flexibility while they waited for Tatum to return for another push.

This offseason that meant letting go of a lot of guys who helped them win a title in 2024, from Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to Al Horford and Luke Kornet, who has become a key piece for San Antonio. Those roster moves, including the Holiday trade that brought Simons to Boston, helped save the Celtics around a quarter of a billion dollars on payroll and luxury tax for this season.

When Boston acquired Simons and his expiring contract, cap experts noted that they might look to flip him at the deadline for further tax relief. The Celtics surprising status as a contender themselves complicates that calculus, but the foundational question remains the same:

Do they think they can win the title this year with or without a Tatum return? And if they think they're a starting center away, does it make sense for them to pay taxes, trade assets, and/or commit to long-term salary to bring him in at this juncture?

If instead of doubling down the Celtics would rather just play with house money this year and save some cash and all of their picks for when they have a better chance at winning it all, the Spurs could offer a mutually-beneficial pathway. Here's what the trade could look like.

Spurs Receive:

Anfernee Simons ($27,678,571, expiring)

Celtice Receive:

Jeremy Sochan ($7,096,231, expiring)
Kelly Olynyk ($13,445,122, expiring)
$27.5 million dollars in savings

The dollar amount requires a brief explanation of how the luxury tax is calculated. For every dollar above the tax level of $187,895,000, teams must pay that amount multiplied by a rate. That rate increases across a number of brackets, and "repeater teams" that have paid the tax in three of the previous four seasons pay higher rates in all brackets across the board.

For example, Boston's total team salary of $199,981,489 puts them into the third bracket as a repeater team. They would pay 3x for every dollar between $0 and $5,685,000, 3.25x for every dollar between $5,685,000 and $11,370,000, and 5.5x for every dollar between $11,370,000 and $17,055,000. That's a total tax penalty of $39,471,940 as things stand.

Trading Simons for Sochan and Olynyk would save the Celtics $7,137,218 in salary on their cap sheet. That would bring their total salary down to $192,844,271, which is $4,949,271 above the tax line and keeps it all in the first bracket at that 3x rate. It drops the tax bill to $14,847,813, a reduction of $24,894,127.

Pro-rated for 30 games the Celtics would also save $2,611,177.32 in payroll expenses, bringing the total saved to just about $27.5 million. The move would also drop Boston below the first apron of $195,945,000, providing them with additional flexibility to improve the roster in the upcoming offseason.

If the Spurs made this move and no others they would be over the tax line themselves by $1,477,053. Their rate in that bracket would be 1x as a team that hasn't paid the tax in several years, and the dollar amount probably wouldn't give them as much pause as the idea of starting their clock as a repeater team.

On the floor, Boston would get some variety in the frontcourt.

Sochan has reportedly been given permission to seek a new home via trade after falling out of San Antonio's rotation, and the 22-year-old defensive pest may be just thrive under Boston's intense head coach Joe Mazzulla. The C's would have the right to match any contract offer the former lottery pick gets as a restricted free agent this summer.

Mazzulla also values shooting, and former Celtic Kelly Olynyk can provide some as a backup big man. When San Antonio traded Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley for Olynyk last offseason, the increase in total salary gave the Spurs a bigger chip to use at the deadline in any sort of deal that required matching salary with an expiring contract.

Boston may find it difficult to move Simons for a big man or duck the tax without attaching a draft pick, and at that point it would probably make more sense just to hold on to him for this run and eat the bill.

The Spurs might not get a better opportunity at this deadline to consolidate the contracts of two guys who aren't in the rotation for a player who improves their outside shooting ahead of the postseason. If they want Simons bad enough they could throw in a second-round pick to sweeten the deal, all without sacrificing their current chemistry or long-term flexibility.