Blazers Guard Named Prime Trade Target For Playoff Contender: Report

Jason Fray|
Mar 30, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) dribbles during the first half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Mar 30, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) dribbles during the first half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Portland Trail BlazersOrlando Magic

As we saw in the playoffs, the Orlando Magic could use some help at the guard spot.

In essence, a shot creator that can take players off the dribble and also be a consistent threat from the perimeter. If said player was within the timeline of the rest of Orlando's young core, the Magic would be highly interested in adding such a talent.

According to longtime NBA pundit Marc Stein, it appears as if the Orlando Magic could focus their efforts on a young player with some considerable upside — and one with ties to the area.

“As a new offseason beckons, another Trail Blazer has been increasingly projected as an Orlando target: Lillard's former Blazers backcourt mate Anfernee Simons. The 25-year-old is an Orlando native who would certainly blend in nicely from a timeline perspective alongside Banchero (22) and Wagner (23).”

Simons and the Magic appear to be a good pairing. As mentioned above, the Magic sorely needs a backcourt creator to help Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero become more balanced. Jalen Suggs is a sigificant element to the team when heatlyh, though he's more heavily relied upon as a lockdown defender.

Simons has proven to be an efficient scorer throughout his career with the Blazers. He's also a multi-level scorer. In seven years as a pro, Simons has accrued a 38.1 career percentage from three-point range. He's also averaged at least 17.3 PPG in each of the last four years.

From Portland's perspective, Simons has one year left on the four-year extension he signed three years ago. With Shaedon Sharpe developing into a very good player at the two-spot, and Scoot Henderson showing signs of life this year as the future point guard, Simons likely will be expendable given his status as a free agent a year from now.

Portland could bypass extending him in favor of picking up some assets from the Magic. Freeing up cap space could enable the Blazers to upgrade elsewhere. Portland is coming off a 36-46 season — which on the surface doesn't look all that impressive.

Having said that, the team played exceptionally well for a long stretch. Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara look like core members of the team for years to come. Young center Donovan Clingan also demonstrated flashes as to why he was so highly-touted coming out of UConn.

At this point, it would behoove Portland to continue in developing around this promising core. In addition to Simons, there's real buzz the Blazers will look to offload Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant if given the opportunity.

More Trail Blazers news: Blazers Draft Assets Ranked Surprisingly Low

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.

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Jason Fray
JASON FRAY

Jason Fray is an On SI Contributor based in Los Angeles. Jason previously wrote for Bleacher Report, Saturday Down South, and FOX Sports. He is a graduate of UCLA.

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