Portland Trail Blazers: Top Five Under 25
1) Anfernee Simons (22)
Was this any bit of a surprise? It shouldn’t be to anyone who watched the Blazers play over the last few months. Anfernee Simons is having his best year, almost Dame-like. He is looking like the player many scouts thought he could develop into. Heading into the draft, many scouts saw Simons as a combo guard. Drawing comparisons to Monta Ellis. Man, I really enjoyed watching Ellis play.
Simons has seen a significant increase in his playing time this year. First, it was Lillard out with an abdominal injury, then McCollum missed time due to a collapsed lung. With those stars out of action, it gave Simons a chance to show great individual productivity.
Once McCollum came back, Rip City fans got to see how Simons handled playing alongside a very talented NBA guard. Now that he’s back to being the Portland Trail Blazers lead-guard (although with some much better complimentary help this time around), the team is flourishing.
In closing
Blazers fans should be very excited about the future. A backcourt of Lillard and Simons along with Hart, Justise Winslow, and (possibly) Nurkic makes for a very appealing starting group. Add in a healthy return of Little with another year of seasoning for Elleby, and Portland has a good seven-man rotation. Also, include a full off-season of NBA development for Brown, Watford, Hughes, and maybe Williams, and they have a nice roster with not too much mileage on it.
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ANFERNEE SIMONS, EVERYONE! pic.twitter.com/4jQjMTRlJm
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 17, 2022
I also forgot the two first-round draft picks the Portland Trail Blazers will have, along with their glorious cap space. The future looks bright for this organization. These young players can be the future core for the Portland Trail Blazers once the Lillard era is over.