{"id":16678,"date":"2024-12-12T07:40:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T07:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=16678"},"modified":"2024-12-12T07:40:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T07:40:03","slug":"trade-news-celtics-named-favorites-to-land-all-nba-point-guard-amid-19-5-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=16678","title":{"rendered":"TRADE NEWS: Celtics Named Favorites To Land All-NBA Point Guard Amid 19-5 Start"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Following an\u00a0NBA\u00a0Finals win last season, the\u00a0Boston Celtics\u00a0have picked up right where they left off, jumping to 19-5, which is tied with the\u00a0Oklahoma City Thunder\u00a0for the second-best record in the league.<\/p>\n<p>Led by the All-Star duo of\u00a0Jayson Tatum\u00a0and\u00a0Jaylen Brown, Boston is still considered the\u00a0heavy favorite\u00a0to go back-to-back, and the recent return of\u00a0Kristaps Porzingis\u00a0has only made\u00a0the Celtics\u00a0more dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Boston could be in the mix to bring in another former All-NBA player.<\/p>\n<p>According to\u00a0BetOnline, the Celtics (+150) are the favorite to land point guard\/forward\u00a0Ben Simmons\u00a0if the\u00a0Brooklyn Nets\u00a0elect to trade or buy him out. The next best odds belong to the\u00a0Cleveland Cavaliers\u00a0(+200) and the\u00a0New York Knicks\u00a0(+350).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Celtics are the favorites to land Ben Simmons if the Nets end up trading or buying him out, per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BetOnline_ag?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BetOnline_ag<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>(h\/t <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CTabatabaie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CTabatabaie<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TPEsZYN3bn\">pic.twitter.com\/TPEsZYN3bn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LegionHoops\/status\/1866918942557835446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Simmons has become a top candidate for a buyout, with his contract expiring following the 2024-25 season. That is if the Nets can&#8217;t find a way to trade the 2018 Rookie of the Year and his $40M salary.<\/p>\n<p>Brooklyn acquired Simmons from the Philadephia 76ers in 2022 in exchange for\u00a0James Harden, who is no longer on the team. During his time in New York, the former LSU star has been a shell of his old self, averaging career-lows of 5.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 2024. However, Simmons is still a capable playmaker, second on his team in assists with 6.4 per game.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"m-in-content-ad-row l-inline mm-in-content-ad-row--in-content not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-2\">\n<div class=\"m-in-content-ad not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-2\" data-zone-count=\"5\">\n<div class=\"not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d m-in-content-ad is-loaded\">\n<div id=\"ad-in_content-cd53285154234844951f5d894230449d\" data-google-query-id=\"CN-oudPcoYoDFQjLFgUdDjAjCQ\" data-ad-size=\"300x250\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/88059007\/athlonsports.com\/nba\/boston-celtics_7__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/88059007\/athlonsports.com\/nba\/boston-celtics_7\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_\/88059007\/athlonsports.com\/nba\/boston-celtics_7\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Advertisement\" data-load-complete=\"true\" data-google-container-id=\"3\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The Celtics likely wouldn&#8217;t be able to acquire Simmons via trade without including one of their starters, which seems like something general manager Brad Stevens would not do. This means that Boston would have to sign Simmons if he were bought out, but even that is tricky given the massive contracts they have handed out over the past year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-item-inline\">\n<figure class=\"l-inline tml-image m-detail--tml-image--inline\"><a><picture class=\"is-loaded\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.webp 380w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.webp 620w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.webp 700w\" type=\"image\/webp\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1240px) 700px, (min-width: 675px) 620px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_380\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.jpg 380w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.jpg 620w, https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1240px) 700px, (min-width: 675px) 620px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"m-detail--tml-image m-image\" src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.jpg\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"ben simmons\" width=\"4385\" height=\"2923\" data-src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MjEwODg3NjU3MDgzOTA1ODcz\/usatsi_24566911.jpg\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"m-in-content-ad-row l-inline mm-in-content-ad-row--in-content not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-3\">\n<div class=\"m-in-content-ad not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-3\" data-zone-count=\"5\">\n<div class=\"not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d m-in-content-ad is-placeholder\">\n<div id=\"ad-in_content-7108e8f2bdbf4709938351fa12aeaafa\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/88059007\/athlonsports.com\/nba\/boston-celtics_8__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>If Simmons does somehow make his way to Beantown, he would certainly come off the bench and be a dynamic playmaker for a team that leads the NBA in three-pointers by a wide margin, averaging 51.4 per contest.<\/p>\n<p>Passing and defense would likely be Simmons&#8217; primary role for Joe Mazzulla&#8217;s squad. He certainly wouldn&#8217;t bring a shooting threat to a three-point-heavy Boston team, as Simmons averages 13.9% from distance during his career, if he, in fact, elects to shoot the ball.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"m-in-content-ad-row l-inline mm-in-content-ad-row--in-content not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-4\">\n<div class=\"m-in-content-ad not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d\" data-ad-group=\"in_content-4\" data-zone-count=\"5\">\n<div class=\"not-size-a not-size-b not-size-d m-in-content-ad is-placeholder\">\n<div id=\"ad-in_content-c98c92efcd244ccbaaf5fc3311d59bdd\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Still, Mazzulla would possibly find a way to utilize Simmons in the rotation with his drive-and-kick skills. Mix that in with a plethora of stars and three-point shooters, and that could mean danger for other teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following an\u00a0NBA\u00a0Finals win last season, the\u00a0Boston Celtics\u00a0have picked up right where they left off, jumping to 19-5, which is tied with the\u00a0Oklahoma City Thunder\u00a0for the second-best record&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TRADE NEWS: Celtics Named Favorites To Land All-NBA Point Guard Amid 19-5 Start - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=16678\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TRADE NEWS: Celtics Named Favorites To Land All-NBA Point Guard Amid 19-5 Start - 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