Havlicek Stole the Pod NBA Basketball Podcast

The 2026 NBA trade deadline has passed and the dust has started to settle on the many moves made by the Boston Celtics and the rest of the league ahead of the annual cutoff on moving players between teams. This week, the Celtics dealt Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic, and then moved Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Josh Minott with only two way player John Tonje coming back. Did we mention that Boston got below the luxury tax without using a first round pick to get there from what would have been the costliest roster in the history of the league?
While easing the pinch on Bill Chisholm's pockets may not get the attention of most Boston fans, the fact that these moves put the Celtics in position to go all-in on spending once they are out of the luxury tax repeater status the season after next ought to register some interest. And now the questions of why the Celtics made the moves they did at the deadline starts to come into focus. To get a better idea of which players might also be added to Boston's roster in the coming days and weeks, and what else Celtics fans should watch for in the medium term, "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with Third Apron founder and cap guru Yossi Gozlan.
We also get caught up on the news, from the presser for Vooch and his debut, to what the White Noise head honcho has been up to in his offcourt adventures, so be sure to tune in.
Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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The Boston Celtics have traded former Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons for Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic, and the move has landed with mixed reactions from fans and analysts alike. On one hand, Boston was able to minimize the risk of losing Simons in free agency for nothing as an unrestricted free agent this summer while also creating a traded player exception (TPE) they can use down the road to add a long-term solution at the 5.
Did we mention they also got a center who can play a style more amenable to a certain injured star forward than anything the Celtics had to work on their roster right now? We are of course referring to Jayson Tatum, who could benefit from a pick-and-pop center like Vucevic. But with the trade, Boston also loses an electric, capable young scorer some hoped might stick with the team for the long haul.
The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" took a moment to react to the trade soon after news broke. Check it out below to hear what they had to say about this unexpected move from the Celtics.
Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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The 2026 NBA trade deadline is less than a week away, and the Boston Celtics will have some tough decisions to make ahead of it. Add in the news that star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum may actually NOT return this season after all, and what Boston's playoff picture (and what they should do to improve it) got a little murkier as a result.
But some things remain constant, such as the Celtics needing an upgrade in their frontcourt, and some more ballhandling on the bench might also be a concern. At the same time, as teams increasingly negotiate through the media, we are hearing more reports tied to Boston than ever. What rumbles are worth paying attention to, and which should Celtics fans take with a grain (or a pile) of salt? This week, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down with Forbes and Hardwood Houdini's Bobby Krivitsky to talk ourselves through the glut of Celtics trade rumors, the Tatum news, and more.
So be sure to tune in to get your bearings ahead of what might be a massive trade deadline for Boston – but could also be a relatively quiet one.
Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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The Boston Celtics have a tough decision to make ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline when it comes to whether they will retain the services of Anfernee Simons. The Celtics dealt for the former Portland Trail Blazers guard this offseason when they moved on from vet guard Jrue Holiday due to cap and perhaps age concerns.
The assumption at that time was that Simons was likely to be a short-timer with the Celtics given his large, expiring contract and seemingly ill fit with Boston to start the 2025-26 NBA regular season. But since then, the Longwood, Florida native has found his niche off the bench with the Celtics, even helping the team to win a few games. How to decide whether Boston should keep him or trade him? To that end, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with "Third Apron" founder and cap guru Yossi Gozlan to host a mock trial on which way the Celtics could go with Simons at the deadline.
This was a fun and informative exercise for us, so be sure to tune in to hear how the trial played out (no one is in jail now, mind you, though there's always a chance this could end with Boston in cap space prison).
Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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Are there any realistic big man trade targets out there for the Boston Celtics ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline? The Celtics find themselves a ball club of note tied to a number of trade candidates just weeks before the last day in the league calendar teams can swap players. Some of them are sexy names with dubious availability and other concerns, like Jaren Jackson Jr., and Ivica Zubac of the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.
Others are perhaps more likely to be dealt but not quite the impact players Zubac and Jackson are, like Dallas Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford, or former Celtics (and current Portland Trail Blazers) center Robert Williams III. Still more might be bargain options with upside like Brooklyn Nets big DayRon Sharpe, and there's plenty of names we aren't hearing that might be reasonably dealt for.
The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" took some time to look at the Boston big man rumor mill as well as look at some other options, and got caught up on news as well, so be sure to tune in.
Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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