How Celtics’ offseason additions, departures have fared through 25 games
Financial flexibility and second-apron restrictions prompted the Celtics to overhaul their roster this offseason.
Four NBA champions exited. Five newcomers arrived.
With Boston now 25 games into its season, here’s a look at how each of those new and departing players has fared thus far (all stats as of Friday):
ADDITIONS
Anfernee Simons
Simons is one of just three Celtics players who have appeared in every game this season. Only Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White have logged more minutes than the former Portland Trail Blazers guard.
Consistent production has eluded Simons, however. Since the start of November, he has nearly as many single-digit scoring efforts (seven) as games with 15-plus points (eight). He’s scored 20-plus four times in a Celtics uniform, most recently in a Nov. 23 win over Orlando.
Simons is the only Boston player who’s seen his role shrink this season — he’s coming off the bench for the first time since 2021 — and the results, so far, have been mixed. The 26-year-old has provided a handful of helpful scoring binges, but he’s also been a nonfactor in several games, most recently going 2-for-9 with two assists and no rebounds in Thursday’s loss at Milwaukee.
It’s not yet clear how the Celtics plan to approach February’s NBA trade deadline, but Simons’ $27.7 million expiring contract makes him a potential trade candidate.
Josh Minott
Jordan Walsh’s emergence bumped Minott out of the starting lineup last month, but the latter has continued to provide value with his length, high energy and sneaky-good 3-point shooting.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla is hard on Minott, often barking at the 23-year-old when he calls him to the bench. The former Minnesota Timberwolves benchwarmer has been the linchpin of Boston’s recent shift toward smaller lineups, though, with Mazzulla often deploying the 6-foot-8 Minott as a small-ball center when starter Neemias Queta is off the floor.
Minott has appeared in all but one game and is on pace for career highs in every statistical category, including his 45.3% field-goal percentage on 3-pointers (2.8 attempts per game).
Hugo Gonzalez
There are shades of Marcus Smart in the Celtics’ latest first-round draft pick.
Gonzalez doesn’t always play big minutes and rarely posts eye-popping stats (3.6 points, 2.9 rebounds per game), but when he’s on the court, he’s like a cannonball coated in Red Bull. His aggressive, annoying defense and hustle plays at both ends have swung games for the Celtics and earned him a role as a 19-year-old rookie. He’s shown some offensive upside, too, shooting 50.9% from the field and 47.6% from deep in limited opportunities.
Gonzalez’s 10.9 individual net rating is third-best among Celtics players behind Queta and Walsh.
Luka Garza
Garza was the Celtics’ primary backup center behind Queta for the first month of the season, but he’s since fallen out of the rotation as Mazzulla has leaned more into smaller lineups. He logged just 15 mostly garbage-time minutes over the last seven games.
Although he’s a skilled offensive rebounder, is shooting 44.0% from 3-point range and has drawn praise from Mazzulla for his work rate, Garza’s defensive issues have been glaring. His minus-7.5 net rating is the worst on the roster by a healthy margin, and he’s offered little as a rim defender, totaling eight blocks in 249 minutes while opponents shoot 73.2% against him inside the restricted area, per NBA player tracking.
Garza’s efficiency differential — how much his team’s net rating changes when he’s on the floor compared to off it — is the fourth-worst in the league, per Cleaning the Glass.
Chris Boucher
Boucher looked like he’d have a substantial role in Boston’s frontcourt after he started all four preseason games. Instead, he’s been one of the last men on the bench.
The 32-year-old former Toronto Raptor appeared in just two of the Celtics’ last 17 games and has not seen game action since Nov. 23. He’s played the fewest minutes of any Celtics player this season, excluding two-ways.
