NBA Rumors: The Portland Trail Blazers declined a trade offer for Ben Simmons from the Philadelphia 76ers.
For the better part of the offseason, I firmly believed that one of the most logical and best landing spots for Ben Simmons was the Portland Trail Blazers. This is a team that needed a roster shakeup and Simmons could get a fresh start by playing next to one of the best point guards in the game.
Perhaps I was wrong, however. Way wrong.
According to a recent report, via Shams Charania, the Blazers declined a trade offer from the Philadelphia 76ers that included three first-round picks and three pick swaps – and, likely, CJ McCollum at the center of the package.
At the very least, this is quite interesting. There are several questions that I have right now.
For one, did the Blazers decline this offer because they simply don’t want anything to do with Simmons? Did they decline this offer because the amount of draft capital that they had to give up was simply too much? Or, are they unwilling to part ways with McCollum?
If it came down to that last point, that kind of shoots down my idea that the Blazers are the best possible – and most sensible – landing spot for Simmons.
If Portland is not willing to include McCollum in any deal for Simmons, there’s no way this is going to work. And perhaps the Blazers are sold on the duo of Simmons and Damian Lillard working as effectively as the duo of Lillard and McCollum has worked for them over the last few years.
Either way, it’s a big risk for the Blazers to trade for Simmons. And if Lillard isn’t 100 percent behind the idea, it would give Portland even less incentive to actually pursue a deal.
Simmons is seeking a new home and, at least from the current look of it, it doesn’t seem likely that it will be in Portland. Though, in fairness, that could always change.