3 NBA trades for the Portland Trail Blazers to get Ben Simmons

NBA trades for the Portland Trail Blazers to get Ben Simmons: Detroit Pistons three-team deal

Portland Trail Blazers receive: Ben Simmons

Philadelphia 76ers receive: Jerami Grant, Robert Covington, Unprotected 2025 First-Round Pick

Detroit Pistons receive: Anfernee Simons, Larry Nance Jr, Unprotected 2023 and 2027 First-Round Picks

This is Portland’s version of going all in, mortgaging the future in an attempt to keep Lillard happy. Rather than give up McCollum, they give up their most talented young player in Simons, two solid role player in Covington and Nance, as well as three unprotected first-round picks.

Would a starting five of Lillard-McCollum-Powell-Simmons-Nurkic contend for a title? Probably not, however, it could if Simmons realized his potential, Nurkic returned to pre-injury form, and things fell their way in the West.

Morey may not get the all-star caliber player he wishes, but they still get a high quality forward they could plug into the starting line-up, and another one in Covington, who’s proven himself within the 76ers franchise.

The Pistons continue their rebuild by bringing in Simons and two unprotected first-round picks, with Nance able to replace some of the Grant minutes in the short term. They’ll be hoping the Trail Blazers falter and that Lillard requests a trade, potentially allowing those picks to convey as lottery selections.