Breaking Down More NBA Trades: Celtics-Bulls Deal and Three-Team Swap

After breaking down the Utah Jazz-Memphis Grizzlies trade, it's time to go over two more trades that have gone down on Wednesday.

We will go over a three-team deal between the Bulls, Timberwolves and Pistons, and a trade between the Celtics and Bulls.

For the latest player updates, be sure to head to FantasySP to utilize the real-time player news engine for all sports. The player news engine is the most robust and fastest player news system in fantasy sports. Signing up for a FantasySP membership can help you track all your fantasy players.

Celtics-Bulls Trade and More Numbers

Boston acquired Nikola Vucevic from the Bulls for Anfernee Simons. The teams also swapped second-round picks.

Vucevic is a 35-year-old center, which is a big need for Boston. He's averaging 16.9 points, 9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks over 30.8 minutes a night, so he still has some gas in the tank. Vuc is shooting 50.5% overall and he's 37.6% on his 3-point attempts.

Simons is a 26-year-old guard who lasted just 49 games in Boston. He came off the bench and averaged 24.5 minutes a night, far below the role he held while with Portland. Simons is also averaging 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and assists, 0.6 steals and 0.1 blocks this season, while shooting 44% overall and 39.5% from deep.

Outlook for the Celtics

Vucevic should slot in as the new starting center for Boston, a spot previously held by Neemias Queta. Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser are the other starters with Jayson Tatum still out with his injury.

If Boston can get Tatum back late in the season, I like the team's chances of coming out of the Eastern Conference right there among the best teams.

The addition of Vucevic will mean less playing time and production for Queta and Luka Garza. Vuc is definitely an upgrade over those two though.

Hauser should continue to hold down the PF spot for now, while also logging some time as the SF. Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott and Baylor Scheierman are other forward options with Tatum out of the picture for now.

Brown will continue to power the team, and might even do so after Tatum returns too. Having Vucevic on the team is a plus for Brown, and everyone else who takes the court with Vuc.

White and Pritchard have their starting spots locked in as well. Scheierman, Gonzalez and Max Shulga are some other options at those spots.

Guard seems to be the weakest spot for the Celtics, so I wouldn't be surprised to see another deal or two to add more talent to those spots.

Three-Team Trade and Numbers

I'm skipping the Bulls' outlook for now, because they were involved in the three-team deal as well.

Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley were sent to the Bulls. Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric landed with Detroit in the deal. Detroit also received a 2026 first-round protected pick swap with Minnesota. The Timberwolves did not get anything in the deal, but shed Conley's salary, which could help them land a big-time player before the trade deadline.

Ivey has started twice over his 33 games played this season. He's averaging 8.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.4 blocks over 16.8 minutes a night. He's shooting 45% overall and he's 37.2% from deep.

Conley has played in 44 games this year, starting nine of them. He's averaging 4.4 points, 2.9 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks over 18.5 minutes a night.

Chicago is stacked at the guard spot, so Ivey and Conley are kind of buried on the depth chart, if they even end up sticking with the Bulls.

Huerter is averaging 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks over 23.6 minutes a night in his 44 games (11 starts).

Saric has only played in five games this season, and was already part of one deal this week. He could be cut, or traded again, before the deadline.

Huerter has a greater chance to play in Detroit than Saric, but both are just depth options. Injuries could thrust either guy into bigger roles though.

Outlook for the Bulls

Now we can get to the Bulls.

Trading away Vucevic is a big blow to the team's center position.

Jalen Smith, Lachlan Olbrich, Patrick Williams and Zach Collins are the options remaining there. There's some serviceable players in the group, but no true standouts.

Matas Buzelis has the power forward spot, with Williams, Smith, Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry some other options there.

Isaac Okoro is at small forward. Terry, Ayo Dosunmu and Phillips are additional options there.

Coby White is a shooting guard. Dosunmu, Simons, Ivey and Tre Jones are other options at the 2 spot. 

Josh Giddey is a point guard when healthy. Simons, Jones, Dosunmu, Ivey and Conley are additional options there.

The Bulls seem really guard heavy, so I wouldn't be surprised if they make more deals to add other forwards/centers to the team.

I think Chicago could still make the playoffs with this roster, but without Vucevic, others are going to need to step up. 

Simons, Ivey and Conley don't really see any changes to their fantasy outlooks after the trade. Simons is still the best fantasy asset, but he's just a deep-league asset with standard league streaming upside.

Ivey and/or Conley will need injuries ahead of them to play a big enough role to be worthwhile fantasy assets. 

The Bulls need to be watched closely, as the game logs over the next few weeks will determine who to add and who is droppable. Check the waiver wire list here for the latest too.

Outlook for the Pistons

Not much changes in Detroit after the three-team deal.

Huerter has the best chance of making an impact, doing so at the shooting guard or small forward spots. Duncan Robinson is the SG starter, while Ausar Thompson is at SF. Caris LeVert and Javonte Green are probably still ahead of Huerter for playing time too.

Cade Cunningham is of course at point guard. Daniss Jenkins and Marcus Sasser are among the options to fill out the minutes Cunningham doesn't play.

Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren are the Pistons' other two starters. Ron Holland II, Isaiah Stewart and Paul Reed are backup options at those spots.

Saric is an option too, but buried pretty good on the depth chart. If Saric sticks in Detroit, I don't see him playing all that much.

This move doesn't really do much for the Pistons, but Huerter is a worthwhile bench guy, and he can help Detroit in its pursuit of a conference title at least.

Outlook for the Timberwolves

Conley leaving doesn't alter much in Minnesota. It does open some playing time at point guard though.

Donte DiVincenzo is the lead guy at PG, with Bones Hyland and Rob Dillingham as the top backups now. Maybe Minnesota could add another guard before the deadline.

Anthony Edwards is the shooting guard. Hyland, Dillingham and Jaylen Clark are additional options there.

Jaden McDaniels is the small forward. Clark, Joe Ingles and others are some secondary options.

Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert are the two starting big men. Naz Reid fills a good amount of the backup minutes, with Leonard Miller and Joan Beringer as other options.

Again, trading away Conley doesn't do much for the team overall, but it creates some cap space to swing a bigger deal, so I bet we'll be discussing the Timberwolves again in the next couple days.