Blazers considering surprising trade of their leading scorer?
Feb 15, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Former player Chauncey Billups speaks during a ceremony honoring former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders prior to a game against Los Angeles Lakers at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
For the second consecutive offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers could be trading away their top scorer.
Longtime Blazers writer Sean Highkin reported this week that Blazers guard Anfernee Simons is worth keeping an eye on with regard to a potential trade this offseason. Highkin adds that Simons appears to be open to a move out of Portland as well.
A trade of Simons would be stunning on several different levels. He is by far the longest-tenured Blazer (having been drafted by Portland in 2018) and yet is still just 25 years old. Simons is also a true three-level scorer and led the Blazers with 22.6 points per game this past season on 38.5 percent from deep. On top of that, Simons, seen by some as the heir apparent in Portland after the Damian Lillard trade last summer, still has multiple seasons left on his contract. He does not figure to be threatened either by Portland’s recent additions of center Donovan Clingan (via the draft) and forward Deni Avdija (via trade).
That said, Simons did benefit last season from down years by his fellow Blazers guards. Shaedon Sharpe, 21, missed most of the season thanks to injury, and Scoot Henderson, 20, really struggled to find his footing as a rookie. If Portland believes that those two younger guards are the ones to build around instead, the ex-Slam Dunk Contest champion Simons could become trade bait. That will only increase the uncertainty with the Blazers heading into next season (which even extends to their head coach too).
