One way or another, after rerouting interest in several big men, the Boston Celtics landed Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick from the Chicago Bulls for Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick. Now, the hole at the center is filled, the backcourt in Boston has extensive space to excel, and Jayson Tatum has another reason to rejoin his third-seeded Celtics.
However, after the Celtics-Bulls trade was official, Mike Scotto of ‘HoopsHype’ followed up from his previous reports by reiterating that an offer of Simons, a first-round pick, and a pick swap for Ivica Zubac was up for grabs. Yet there was a distance between the proposal and materializing because LA had an unreasonably inflated price for the Croatian Star.
LA was firm on not budging on the first-round picks they wanted, which has not been parallel to Zubac’s performance this season; therefore, the Celtics found a cheaper, but still similar, deal and took it, indirectly informing the Clippers of a chance lost without return.
The Clippers’ latest trade buzz indicates a golden opportunity that shattered their expectations
If Darius Garland arrives at the LA Clippers, what does the narrative of the front office's declined offer from the Boston Celtics look like? They said no to a 26-year-old Anfernee Simons and draft picks, but having these assets in a future with Garland has serious appeal.
Two days before the deadline, all of the serious interest in Zubac might be underwater. The Celtics' trade idea was one of those moments that come around once, and only once; if you snooze, you lose.
Boston was ready, with the payment of Simons and picks in hand, which is why it was smart at the moment to take what you can get, and play the rest of the deadline out by ear.
Had Simons already been a Clipper, the front office would have had a better footing, with a solid future amid the drama on James Harden that leaped last night. In the end, the front office lost the most important factor of time, pushed chaos until the last minute, and added stress that will be maxed out through Thursday at 3 P.M. EST.
That said, Nikola Vucevic’s trade to the Celtics has a lesson for the Clippers written top to bottom on it: the future is unpredictable, and some doors never open twice. Thus, a long, hard approach should be taken with offers close to the asking price.