NBA Trade Rumors: Blazers could surprisingly move a key piece of their young core?

NBA Trade Rumors: There are rumblings that the Portland Trail Blazers could surprisingly trade a key piece of their young core.

Over the last year, the Portland Trail Blazers have made a strong effort to pivot toward a rebuild. They successfully traded Damian Lillard last offseason and embraced their youth movement during the year. Even though Scoot Henderson left much to be desired during his rookie season, the overwhelming belief is that the future is bright for the Blazers. As Shaedon Sharpe continues to take a step forward in his game, it's naturally going to bring about long-term questions about the future of Anfernee Simons.

And there are recent rumblings that the idea the Blazers could elect to trade Simons is not that far off. Simons, who has been one of the team's most consistent contributors over the last few seasons, may not have as high of a ceiling as Henderson and Sharpe. Because of that, it could force Portland to make some big decisions about his future.

In the words of Blazers reporter Sean Highkin, Simons' status with the team is something to keep an eye on. If Portland does elect to move forward in building around Henderson and Sharpe, Simons could end up being somewhat of an odd man out. In that scenario, it could open the door for a trade.

Could the Portland Trail Blazers be open to trading Anfernee Simons?

If the Blazers are open to trading Simons, it's unlikely to be a quick outcome. Knowing how Joe Cronin likes to operate, he's going to slowly allow the market to set itself before he moves forward with anything. An interesting element to all of this is the fact that Simons is just under contract through the 2025-26 season.

If Portland would want to get the most value out of Simons on the trade market, it would make sense for them to trade him at some point in the next few months.

At least for now, it's just something to keep in mind. You'd have to assume that if the Blazers are going to shake up their roster a Jerami Grant trade is going to come first. After that, perhaps it could be time to start thinking about Simons' availability.

Over the next few months, the Blazers could be quite active in the trade market. Whether or not they will actually pull the trigger on any deals remains to be seen, but they will certainly have options.