There were two main topics of discussion this past NBA offseason—Ben Simmons’ future in Philadelphia and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Ever since they lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, Ben Simmons has been taking on the burden of the blame for the Sixers losing this series and it really has not been fair to him.
Sure, the 3-time All-Star could have played better than he did, but poor coaching decisions and the Hawks just simply playing harder than the Philadelphia 76ers won them this series.
Simmons is not the main reason Philadelphia lost in the playoffs after being the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference, but he was the one being blamed and as a result, the organization looked for ways to move on from him.
Daryl Morey and this front-office have not traded Simmons yet and while they have continued to deal with drama relating to their defensive star, the 76ers do not want to trade him unless they can get an All-Star-level talent in return.
Who knows what is going to occur with the Portland Trail Blazers and MVP-talent Damian Lillard, but now, reports from The Athletic have surfaced stating that the Blazers not only made a trade offer for Philadelphia 76ers’ All-Star Ben Simmons, but that Damian Lillard wants to play with Simmons.
What is true and not true is a big mystery, especially since Damian Lillard has since gone to Twitter and has shot down all that was said in this article written by Shams Charania and Sam Amick, but Philadelphia-Portland trade scenarios have been ongoing since the start of the year!
As the start of 2022 approaches and February’s trade deadline continues to get closer and closer, more and more details about what is in store for the 76ers and Trail Blazers will be released, but let’s take a look at a rumored trade proposal that Portland supposedly offered Philadelphia for Ben Simmons.
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: G CJ McCollum, G Anfernee Simons, F Nassir Little, POR 2024 1st Round Pick (Unprotected)
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: G/F Ben Simmons
According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick, the trade package that has been discussed between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers involves CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little and a first-round pick for Ben Simmons.
What year this pick would be in is unknown right now, but for the sake of making this trade work, we have made it in 2024 since Portland cannot trade their first-round pick in 2023 as a result of not having a first-round pick in 2022. Whether or not there would be protections on said draft pick the Blazers would send to Philadelphia is another question that would need to be answered, but we will assume it is unprotected for now.
On the receiving-end of things, The 76ers would be sending out $33M in total salaries in this trade, but absorbing a total of $37.1M in total salaries, which is why they would likely include a young talent with Simmons going to Portland. Isaiah Joe ($1.5M), Paul Reed ($1.5M), Shake MIlton ($1.8M) and Jaden Springer ($2M) would be the names to keep an eye on as potential “add-ons” for salary purposes.