Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons’s “status is worth keeping an eye on,” per The Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin.
“On draft night, Cronin said the Blazers are ‘committed’ to building around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, and didn’t mention Simons’ name. Simons also appears open to a move—at his end-of-season exit interview in April, he said he wants ‘the opportunity to win,’ which is very plainly not where the Blazers are right now or will be in the next few years.”
As Highkin notes, one of the primary factors in whether the Blazers are willing to move Simons could be his desire to play for a winning team.
Anfernee Simons’ name was never mentioned in this interview.
One year after Dame handed him the keys to this team, Cronin took them away.
What’s next for Anfernee? pic.twitter.com/KYVxVfWUlR
— Jabari Walker’s Revenge (@OSportsU) June 29, 2024
Simons’ comments didn’t necessarily mean he would be looking for a different team if Portland continued to be uncompetitive. Indeed, the 25-year-old sounds like he wants the Trail Blazers to turn it around:
“We don’t want to have another year like this,” Simons says. “My sixth year is done now, going into year seven, I want to have the opportunity to win.”
Anfernee Simons is tired of losing
“We don’t want to have another year like this. My sixth year is done now, going into year seven, I want to have the opportunity to win.”
(Via @highkin ) pic.twitter.com/aYw31TM9X9
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 16, 2024
Nonetheless, with the reality that Portland is still in rebuild mode, their timelines appear to be diverging. If that’s the case, it makes sense for both sides to consider a separation.
Blazers to Trade Anfernee Simons?
From a transactional perspective, Simons’s combination of age and ability could fetch at least a first round pick. Selected 24th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Simons has outplayed his draft position, averaging 20.2 points and 4.4 assists per game over the past three seasons. In that time, he’s also shot 44.0 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from 3.
At 6-foot-3 and 181 pounds, Simons is a slithery combo guard whose 3-point touch screams ‘star.’
However, Simons has at least one big problem. He can’t stay healthy.
Over the past three seasons, the IMG product has missed 81 games. Put another way, since 2021-22, he’s missed about a season’s worth of games. His inability to stay on the court is a problem in and of itself as it’s limited his development. However, he’s made it all but impossible for the Blazers to be the winning team he’s looking for. To that point, Portland is just 18-63 without Simons since 2021-22, but 63-102 with him.
Another issue for Simons is that teams are tiptoeing around high-priced players, concerned about how the most recent CBA will restrict their options from there on out. Making $53.6 million over the next two seasons, playoff contenders will have to weight the cost-benefit of a smallish, injury-prone guard with defensive concerns and a tendency to go hot and cold on offense. For all of Simons’ potential to be great, teams likely need to see more from him to make that investment.
