Portland Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons breakout changes the Blazers direction
Rob Ryan
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The Portland Trail Blazers have some great players. What direction should the organization take with the trade deadline approaching?
Going into the 2021-22 season, the Portland Trail Blazers already had a talented and deep backcourt. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were the starters, with Anfernee Simons coming off the bench and Norman Powell filling in occasionally. That is a good plan on paper, but it isn’t so simple.
It’s rough for Portland defensively when CJ McCollum plays as an undersized shooting guard. His size and skill set are of a point guard. The problem doubles when the Trail Blazers use Norman Powell at small forward. At 6-3, he is vastly undersized. Powell fits in better as a shooting guard.
Anfernee Simons added to the mess as it was still undecided if he was more suited at point guard or shooting guard coming into the season. That was supposed to be the season that defined Simon’s future role. Instead, injuries thrust Simons into a situation where his “future” is now. He has stepped up and plays like a star.
How has Simons rise impacted what the Portland Trail Blazers do with their roster?
The Portland Trail Blazers can do a soft rebuild while still maintaining the flexibility for a full one if eventually needed. The first place to look is at the teams’ top six players going into the season. Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic, and Larry Nance Jr. Out of those six, the Trail Blazers can deal four of them to upgrade the roster.
Let’s, for the moment, believe what the Blazers’ franchise has been putting out that Lillard is going to stay. Now say Simons is Lillards’ new backcourt mate for the foreseeable future. Next, I don’t see a straightforward trade on the table to upgrade from Nurkic. If the team is convinced they can’t re-sign Nurkic, then they move on from him. But, after seeing the chemistry he’s currently having with Simons and has had with Dame in the past, I assume he stays. At least in this hypothetical.
That leaves the starting forward positions that need upgrading. Nassir Little‘s recent ascension has shown his ability to be the teams’ future small forward. His recent play has also raised his trade value if the team decides to move him for a more established forward.
Who should the team target at the trade deadline?
If the Portland Trail Blazers can pry Ben Simmons away from the Sixers with some combination of McCollum, Powell, Nance Jr, and Covington, they would have to consider that a win. Even the cheaper option of Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons) gives Dame the most talented forward he’s played with since LaMarcus Aldridge departed in 2015.
Whether it’s Ben Simmons or Jerami Grant, the new addition to the starting lineup would cause many problems offensively for opponents. Imagine two near seven-footers in Nurkic and Simmons who can pass while also being highly efficient in the paint? It would force defenses into being honest. It would also allow for more ball movement and less iso ball. Finding the easier, higher percentage shots will also help create open looks for the guards on the perimeter. The addition of Simmons or Grant would make it easier to hide Lillard on defense as both excel at perimeter defense and switching.
Talent consolidation for an impact player at a position of need is what Dame, Simons, and this team need. If it doesn’t work out, you do the complete rebuild a year or so later. If you had to move Lillard for, let’s say, Jaylen Brown in Summer 2023, you’d still have a talented young nucleus. The youth and talent levels of a Simons/Brown/Simmons or Grant core is a decent consolation prize if Lillard decides he wants out in a year.
No matter how you look at it, Simons made more players expendable with his play. Players the Portland Trail Blazers can use to upgrade the roster. An upgrade that Lillard wanted for years. With less than three weeks until the trade deadline, let’s see if management can make it happen.
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What’s your take on Anfernee Simons’s impact on the Portland Trail Blazers direction? Let us know in the comments section below.