Asking an NBA player about being in trade rumors can get interesting. It’s the toughest part of NBA life, and it can wear heavily on some guys, so just about any kind of reaction to that question can be expected.
Except a happy smile.
But that's what Anfernee Simons flashed after that question was posed to him.
Anfernee Simons ALL SMILES when asked about how he deals with being in trade rumors 🤣
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) January 10, 2026
"Yea man, It's the NBA i been in trade rumors since my 3rd year. Every other week it's something new. It's just apart of the NBA and you just gotta be where your feet are."
-@CLNSMedia |… pic.twitter.com/P5yYCowUab
“Yeah, man, that’s the NBA,” he said after helping the Celtics beat the Raptors on Friday night. “I’ve been in trade rumors since my third year, every other week it seemed like. So it’s just a part of the NBA and you’ve just got to be where your feet are.”
Who knows what will happen between now and the February 5 trade deadline, but for now, his feet are gliding across the parquet in Boston, 20 to 25 minutes at a time on most nights. Most often, those feet are about 24 feet away from where the ball is supposed to go, launching Simons at a slight angle that kicks them forward and into a defender’s space. The top half of the body is finishing the job the feet started, taking advantage of the space and flicking bombs into the net 41% of the time.
Simons has turned a corner for the Celtics, scoring at least 13 points off the bench in seven straight games, shooting no worse than 54.5% in his last five. He’s hit multiple 3-pointers in nine straight games, and at least three in his last six. The Boston Celtics now own the best offensive rating in the league this season, and Simons is a big reason why.
“Anfernee’s gotten better since he first walked into the practice facility until now,” Jaylen Brown said. “I think he's a better basketball player in a matter of a few months. He competes on the defensive end. He understands the game a little bit better as well, like how to play winning basketball. And he's a really talented player. He's probably more talented than the role he’s in right now. But he comes out, he has the right mindset, he contributes to winning every single night, which I respect the hell out of.”
The role he has now is new to him, but he’s learned how to make it work. It didn’t happen right away, but that probably should have been expected. His feet used to be 3,000 miles away, and for the past few years, they had the added responsibility of walking Simons out for starting introductions. Now they generally get the first six minutes of the game off, planted firmly on the sideline, maybe tapping a little as Simons anxiously waits for his number to be called.
“I just had to find my way within what we’re trying to do,” Simons said. “I think for the most part I was able to find ways I can still be myself and still play the way that I feel like I play best in. So that pretty much flows into what we’re trying to do. So it’s a pretty easy fit, but of course it’s going to take a minute to adjust to.”
Simons’ feet have picked up some added responsibilities on the Atlantic side of the country. They have been sliding in order to stay in front of opposing players, which must have sparked some complaints from the rest of the body at some point. The adductors and abductors probably celebrated a new purpose in life, but the feet were probably not thrilled about moving in a new direction. Simons’ head, though, was being filled with new ideas by Joe Mazzulla, so the feet had no choice.
“The most important thing is just doing your job every night,” Mazzulla said. “He takes a ton of pride in that, he's competing at a high level. But I love the role that he's in, because he comes in and it's another guy that can play-make for us, another guy that can score for us. But I like the fact that he takes pride in his defense. He wants to get better every night.”
Simons’ feet are in Boston, doing work they're not used to doing, but still doing it well. They work in effortless conjunction with the rest of him to make a very hard thing, scoring off the bench in the NBA, look very easy. His game can easily be watched in slow motion, set to "Sull'aria ... che soave zeffiretto.”
And that is what might take his feet elsewhere. Such is life in the Association.
“We can't control anything,” Mazzulla said. “Since day one, he's done a great job controlling what he can control, and the most important thing, every night, he gets better and better.”