Utah Jazz Receive: G Anfernee Simons (Sign & Trade), F Nassir Little, G Eric Bledsoe, 2022 First-Round Pick (POR), 2025 First-Round Pick (POR)
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: C Rudy Gobert
*This trade would need to be executed in separate transactions with Simons being in a sign-and-trade.
Anfernee Simons has exploded onto the NBA scene this season. He’s gone from an afterthought to a burgeoning superstar virtually overnight. Trading him would not be easy for the Portland Trail Blazers.
That doesn’t mean it’s not the right move.
After all, the team did finally pull the plug on the Lillard/CJ McCollum pairing. After so many years of struggling defensively with an undersized backcourt, is the 6’3 Simons necessarily an ideal pairing with Lillard?
This deal allows them to acquire arguably the best defensive anchor in the league without parting with that previously mentioned lottery pick. They could use that pick to acquire another impact veteran (Jerami Grant, anyone?) and put themselves in an ideal position to compete this season.
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As for Utah, they get to jumpstart their rebuild with some draft capital, an emerging star, and whatever they acquire in exchange for Donovan Mitchell.
That sounds like the foundation for something that might be built to last.
