Portland Trail Blazers: 3 Trades that would drastically change the team
To reach the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers need something to shake them out of their funk. A big trade could be the answer.
Trade #2- Portland trades Anfernee Simons and Trendon Watford to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby and Thaddeus Young.
I can already hear the complaints about trading Anfernee Simons. This one isn’t a slight at Simons; he will be a legit star in this league.
The problem is that he falls under the same umbrella of issues that plagued the Damian Lillard/CJ McCollum backcourt. Although Simons is a better spot-up shooter than McCollum and incrementally better on defense, he’s still too much of a liability that ends up disrupting the Portland Trail Blazers frontcourt, which much too often has to over-compensate.
The potential Simons has on Portland’s offense is swapped for what OG Anunoby can do on the defensive side of the ball. Think of the impact Draymond Green has for Golden State and how Dame has levied for that kind of player on his team for years.
Anunoby could arguably be a younger, better offensive version of Draymond Green when it’s all said and done.
The Portland Trail Blazers would certainly miss Ant’s offense. But with Jerami Grant and Dame already on the roster, they have enough perimeter-oriented offensive players.
They need a third scorer who could get more points in the paint or with a solid mid-range game. Losing Watford would hurt; he’s been a sparkplug off the bench.
By bringing in Thaddeus Young, Watford’s minutes decrease anyhow. Youngs’ contract becomes an expiring one next year, which could help the Portland Trail Blazers make a smaller move down the road if needed.
Reports are Toronto wants a huge package for Anunoby. However, getting a player back in Simons, who is only 23 years old and already looks like he has enormous star potential, has to even up that value.
Ant looks even better to Toronto, given that he already plays elite whenever he’s had the starting point guard role without Dame. Simons has averaged 29 points per game in the 10 games Dame missed this season.