The core predicted to win back-to-back championships exists no more. With Jayson Tatum set to miss the majority of action next year, many are calling this a “gap year” for the Boston franchise. The moves from the Celtics indicate that, too, as Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are traded away. Even Luke Kornet has also joined the long list of departing players, with Al Horford probably being next. But Dwyane Wade seems to be on board with one of the acquisitions, which led to a disagreement with his former teammate.
The Celtics traded 2x champ Jrue Holiday to Portland in exchange for Anfernee Simons and two future second-round picks. D-Wade shared the thought process and said, “Anfernee can fill it up… We know that he can do it in bunches… He has a lot of Dame in him. Obviously, Dame was his mentor… I love the fact that they just grabbed a young fella to insert some energy into that team.” Last season, Simmons finished with 19.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per contest. Combine it with his shooting 42.6% from the field and 36.3% from the three-point range in 70 games.
So, doesn’t seem a bad pick, right? But Dwyane Wade’s teammate wasn’t on board. ” I hope y’all think I’m negative this show, I’m not rolling with this s— either. I’m not rolling with it. You bring in a young gunner. He don’t know how to win. You bring him to a winning organization, he don’t know how to win. He been losing. Period.” Dorell Wright, the former champion, had his issues with Simons, who had spent each of his first seven seasons playing for the Trail Blazers.
The move may sound questionable on paper, but there was a deep reason for the cleanout. Boston’s luxury tax bill for 2025-26 drops by a projected $40 million, thanks to unloading the $72 million still owed to Holiday over the next two seasons, per Bobby Marks. Combining it with Simons, who arrives on an expiring deal and is extension-eligible. Thus, making a perfect play from the front office. That’s why D-Wade saw this opportunity as a win for Beantown.
Dwyane Wade’s stance on Simons brought bad news for another 27-year-old Celtics
The argument only escalated when Wright got no support from D-Wade over Payton Pritchard’s treatment. “Then we got Payton Pritchard right there. That’s a slap in the face to Payton Pritchard, in my opinion. So you gonna start him over Payton Pritchard, the sixth man of the year who’s proven?” The Flash’s answer was short and quick. “Yup, What’s wrong with being the sixth man of the year?”
Wright, who was the youngest player on the Heat’s championship-winning roster with Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, explained the dilemma about Pritchard’s situation. “I don’t want to do that no more. I don’t want to be the sixth man no more. It’s my time. I respect it. I’ve done it on the national stage. It’s my time.” But once again, Dwyane Wade felt that it was Simons’ spot to be a starter over the Celtics’ 2025 Sixth Man of the Year.
“Your time may be somewhere else. All right, cool. We liked you as sixth man.” Mind you, this was a role-playing conversation between Wright and Wade. Since the former wanted Pritchard to start, he explained that stance. While Wade explained it from the POV of the front office, who have confidence in Simons. But only time will tell, the real decision from the Celtics. And who knows how many more trades away from Boston are going to take place?
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