Celtics Cut Ties with $28 Million Star in Bold 3-Team Tra...

By Alex Kirschenbaum

Contributing Sports Writer

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Following a concern loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, the Boston Celtics find themselves in the winners' circle once again, after besting the Orlando Magic on Sunday, 138-129. Boston has improved to a 9-8 record on the young season and the Eastern Conference's No. 10 seed.

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Although six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum is out of commission for most or all of 2025-26 thanks to his Achilles tendon surgery, and key championship-era pieces Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet are all out the door thanks to trades and free agency departures, the Celtics remain a scrappy out.

Sure, this iteration of the squad isn't competing for a title without Tatum available. But four-time All-Star wing Jaylen Brown, two-time All-Defensive guard Derrick White, and 2025 Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard have all enjoyed solid runs this year, even while shouldering larger burdens in the team's offensive relative to what they did in 2024-25. Rising young role players like Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh — plus new additions like Anfernee Simons and Josh Minott — have also helped steady the ship during this season of roster churn.

Still, the Celtics could use some more two-way help along the perimeter. The contracts of Simons and backup forward Sam Hauser have been floated as possible trade chips heading into the Feb. 5 trade deadline this season. But should Boston be a buyer or a seller, with a possible lottery pick on the line next spring?

A new blockbuster trade idea from Bill Simmons of The Ringer would see Boston unloading reserve guard Anfernee Simons elsewhere this season for an upgrade at another position.

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"Here's my fake trade — Picasso was in the studio for this one — Clippers get Anfernee Simons and Saddiq Bey from New Orleans, Pelicans get Bogdanovic's expiring plus Derrick Jones [Jr.], the Celtics get Trey Murphy," Simmons suggests. "The Pelicans, from the Celtics, get the Celtics' first pick this which might be a lottery pick, might be a high lottery pick if it's in the lottery, they get the right to grab — the Celtics have a swap with the Spurs in 2028, so whichever pick the Celtics end up with in that swap, the Pelicans would get that, and then Boston's unprotected 2031 pick, for Trey Murphy — who is on a great contract, who I think is a really good player, who has been in the worst possible situation in New Orleans from the time he got there. That's the most poorly run organization in the league."

At 2-15 this year, the Pelicans have the second-worst win percentage in the NBA (.118). But thanks to new team president Joe Dumars' draft day dealmaking over the summer, New Orleans is without its own pick — having traded it to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to No. 13 selection Derik Queen. While Queen has already looked like a keeper, it's bizarre that the Pelicans did not put at least heavy protections on the outgoing 2026 draft pick.

"Underrated asset because he's been on New Orleans," Simmons added. "If you're the Celtics, if you could do whatever it took to turn Simons into Trey Murphy and spend some picks, and then have the foundation of White, and Pritchard, and Tatum and Brown, and Trey Murphy, and Queta — who's kind of turned into something here — and random big dudes, and then look at free agency, you've rebooted."

Sacrificing a potentially unprotected lottery pick in what is rumored to be a loaded 2026 NBA Draft, plus putting zero protections on a pick in five years when core pieces like White and maybe even Brown may have aged out (Tatum and Pritchard will be 32), is highly risky.

Trey Murphy is a solid player, but is he worth this level of future asset sacrifice?

The 6-foot-8 combo forward out of the University of Virginia, 25, has missed an average of 27 games across the past two seasons. When he has played, he's been pretty effective. In 17 games this season for the lowly Pelicans, the 6-foot-8 pro has been averaging 20.2 points on .464/.370/.940 shooting splits, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.7 steals a night. He would help shore up the Celtics' defense and shooting, while helping to curb some superfluous positional overlap by letting the Celtics ditch Simons.

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