NBA Trades: Spurs cleverly bolsters backcourt in proposed deal with Blazers
By Cal Durrett
NBA Trades: Would the Blazers agree to the trade?
Unlike the Spurs, who have a fantastic building block in Wembanyama, the Blazers are still searching for their next franchise player, post-Damián Lillard. The most obvious option would be 2023 number three overall pick Scoot Henderson, though he had an ugly start to his rookie year before playing better to close out the season. He still has a high ceiling, but the Blazers may be eyeing the 2025 NBA Draft, which features Cooper Flagg.
Other teams are likely lining up to tank for him, and the Blazers may get in on that by trying to move their better, more experienced players, such as Simons, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams. That would improve their lottery odds while giving young players such as Henderson a larger role to develop. As for whether they'd agree to the deal, moving up six spots plus adding another first in next year's draft for Simons seems like a fair deal.
They may also be able to extract some value out of Collins, who struggled last season but was very productive during the 2022–23 season. Based on that, the Blazers may consider the hypothetical deal, though a team such as the Orlando Magic could also show interest in Simons.