Blazers News: Pundit Explains Why It's Time to Trade Anfernee Simons

The Portland Trail Blazers are a team that needs to rebuild. Trading Anfernee Simons might help them do that.

Dec 23, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) and guard Anfernee Simons (1) and forward Toumani Camara (33) walk back to the bench during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers are looking for a way to get back into being a great team. For the last few years, they have been a very middling franchise. Trading Damian Lillard before last season started was a way of them acknowledging that they need to have a franchise reset.

Portland thought that drafting Scoot Henderson third overall could help them do that. Unfortunately, he has been bad for the first season and a half that he has been with the Blazers. They still have plenty of other young pieces to build around, including Donovan Clingan and Shaedon Sharpe.

One younger player who they might decide to part ways with is guard Anfernee Simons. Simons is still just 25 years old and is playing some solid basketball. He's averaging 17.4 points and 4.8 assists per game but is shooting just 41% from the field. That poor shooting is what has him as a possible trade candidate.

Simons is considered by some a guy who could get some interest around the league. He is a tough player to figure out what they are going to do with, though. His contract is larger than what a lot of players who are putting up similar stats, which makes things tricky.

Simons is making just under $26 million this season. That could make finding some other players of comparable value a lot tougher. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't make a move with Simons, though. His defensive issues are the biggest reason why the Blazers might want to part ways with him.

The defense is a big issue. Simons is a smaller guard, which is part of the reason why they traded Lillard. They knew that two small guards together do not work well in today's NBA. Simons hasn't gotten much better on the defensive end and probably needs to be paired with a bigger guard.

If the Trail Blazers do decide to make a move, they need to pair with the perfect team in order to not be forced to send extra compensation. Simons might best be used as a sixth man on a championship-level team. That way, his defense isn't as big of an issue.

Any deal involving Simons likely wouldn't happen until the trade deadline. Portland is in a position where they can be choosey when it comes to other teams wanting their players.

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