Chicago Bulls Trade Nikola Vucevic to Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons

The Chicago Bulls are doing the previously unthinkable: selling expiring and aging assets in exchange for younger talent.

Less than 90 minutes after trading Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric in a three-team deal that netted Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley Jr. on Tuesday, the Bulls made another deal ahead of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Chicago is sending veteran center Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics and acquiring guard Anfernee Simons, along with a second-round pick.

It's the end of an era for Chicago. Vucevic, 35, was the final remaining piece of the Bulls' Big Three that featured Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. He was traded from Orlando to the Windy City in March of 2021, and the following season, the core of Vucevic, LaVine and DeRozan led the Bulls to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

With Vucevic aging and set to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer, the Bulls have now shipped him to a playoff contender in Boston, tied for the No. 2 seed in the East at 31-18. Vucevic has averaged 16.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 48 starts this season.

Chicago and Boston had previously explored a trade for Vucevic earlier in the season, but a deal did not materialize.

The addition of Simons marks Chicago's third guard acquisition of the day, following the trade for Detroit's Ivey and Minnesota's Conley. A former first-round pick for the Trail Blazers, Simons came off the bench in 49 appearances for Boston this season. Simons has averaged 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and although his counting stats are lower than they were in Portland, the nifty guard's efficiency has climbed significantly.

At 44.0% overall shooting and 39.5% from deep, Simons is converting on his highest rate of attempts since 2022-23. He has also been a reliable player on a winning Celtics team.

Simons, 26, is playing on the final deal of a four-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Trail Blazers in 2022. He is due $27.7 million and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has now made three trades over the last week, bringing in Ivey, Conley, Simons and three second-round draft picks in exchange for Huerter and Vucevic. The new approach is a pivot from Chicago's previous deadline activity, and the Bulls are surely not done yet.

Karnisovas still has several more expiring contracts to work with, including Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Zach Collins. He may not look to move all three, but his acquisition of three new guards casts doubt that White and Dosunmu will both be a part of the team's future.