Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers.
After the Philadelphia 76ers were upset in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Ben Simmons trade rumors immediately surfaced. Some of them hinted at the Portland Trail Blazers sending C.J. Mccollum in a deal to obtain the 24-year-old All-Star. I wanted to add some analysis as to why I think this would be the PERFECT trade for both teams. Here are three reasons why this trade works for Each Team.
In one of my recent articles, I made the point that I thought most of Portlands’ starting lineup played out of position. I’ve often wondered what it would be like if CJ was drafted a year before Dame and not the other way around. CJ, in my mind, has always been a PG forced to play SG for Portland because they already had Dame.
Norman Powell, acquired in the Gary Trent trade, played small forward this season for a wing-depleted Blazers team. He fits better as a shooting guard than as a frontcourt player. Robert Covington always played his best ball as a 3-and-D small forward. He was out of position last season as an undersized power forward.
Removing CJ and shifting Powell and Roco to their more natural positions becomes an even better option for Portland when they add the defensive and ball-handling abilities of Ben Simmons at power forward. That’s three above-average defenders roaming the lanes, two of which were All-NBA Defense First Teamers (Simmons and Covington). Simmons is already doing more defensively than the Portland Trail Blazers ever even hoped Zach Collins would become.
If anything has been learned over the last four years of Blazers basketball, aside from Dame, this team lives and dies by the health and impact of Jusuf Nurkic. They hover around eighth seed/missing the playoffs entirely without him and have been a Top-3 seed when he’s been healthy. In addition, the Blazers improved perimeter defense would allow Nurkic to compensate defensively less often and finally be a bigger offensive threat down low.
All the grief people gave Nurkic in that first-round series against the Nuggets completely ignored the fact that Nurkic didn’t have any real defensive help while trying to stop the league MVP. Undersized at their positions, forwards Covington and Powell weren’t able to aid Nurkic as much as one would hope. At the other end of the floor, an exhausted and foul-plagued Nurkic rarely played in situations where he could get interior scoring opportunities. Portland didn’t utilize Nurkic offensively to the best of his abilities. Ben is the exact kind of forward that would help Nurkic.
Rip City fans recall the Damian Lillard/LaMarcus Aldridge era. The last time Dame played with an All-Star, Portland had a brief look at a team knocking at the door of contention. Unfortunately, that team was a healthy Wesley Matthews and an upgrade at center (apologies to Robin Lopez, who was solid but just not quite enough IMO) away from winning a championship. The recipe was a pair of defensive wing players in Batum and Matthews who could knock down the 3-balls with an inside presence from Aldridge, whom defenses had to double team.
I think Powell/Roco can be better versions of that Matthews/Batum combo. Powell already has better ball-handling skills than Matthews ever had. Also, after his initial rough start, Roco was a better defender and seemed more consistent than Batum did with the Blazers.
Offensively, Ben Simmons isn’t anywhere close to the player Aldridge was. However, his passing and slashing abilities would help Nurkic maximize his offensive potential (which, as I mentioned before, has been underutilized). There is also the benefit of creating a nightmarish defensive pair down low.
Imagine Ben Simmons switching off and guarding Nikola Jokic throughout the recent Denver series? How about the year before if Portland was able to put Ben Simmons on Anthony Davis? One could argue that Ben Simmons is on the defensive side of the court to what Lillard is on the offensive side. Why would you NOT want to pair up those two players?
I’ve been a big fan of Mccollum for years. My biggest complaint is that as part of the Portland Trail Blazers, he plays out of position. When starting at PG in place for an injured Lillard, his stats jump off the page. Scoring roughly 27 ppg with FG and 3pt percentages higher than Dames, I have to think he’d instantly be one of the top Point guards in the Eastern Conference if he were to start at PG for Philadelphia. His defensive issues would also not be as obvious if he didn’t match up with shooting guards, who are typically much taller than point guards.
I still don’t understand the undervaluing of CJ. He might not be an All-Star while playing SG for Portland, but In Philly playing PG with the ball in his hands as much as Dame does, I think he absolutely will be an All-Star. Also, CJ running pick and rolls with Embiid would be a nightmare for defenses.
Not a lot of players are fearless in the clutch, but CJ is definitely one of them. Not only is he fearless, but he also thrives in those situations. Maybe it’s because Dame had such a big influence on him. But more likely, it’s due to their similar backgrounds. Both were from small, unknown colleges and developed with an underdog/chip on their shoulder mentality.
However you want to explain it, one thing I’ll say is that in the last 25 years of being a Blazers fan, only Damian Lillard and Brandon Roy would I put above CJ Mccollum as to who I’d want with the ball in their hands at the end of a do or die game.
One of CJ Mccollums’ biggest impacts on a team is his positive influence in the locker room. It’s often overlooked. He helped create the culture in Portland. Accountability along with a humbleness created a camaraderie that current and ex-teammates have talked highly about. I’m not as familiar with the 76ers culture or team chemistry. I know it can only improve with the addition of CJ.
What are your thoughts on this hypothetical trade? Do you agree or disagree with the points in this article? Leave comments down below or on social media.