The 2021 NBA offseason has begun and the focal point of trade talks this offseason have surrounded both the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers. For the Sixers, they are a championship contending team, but figuring out what to do with Ben Simmons is the “million-dollar question.”
The soon-to-be 25-year-old has plenty of room to grow as a player and already has a list of accolades. He is a 3x All-Star, a 2x All-Defensive Player and an All-NBA performer, but Ben Simmons has been a major liability for Philadelphia and was one of the main reasons why they failed to advance past the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
In the postseason, Simmons averaged 11.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 8.8 assists, which is not bad, but his 34.2% free-throw percentage is pathetic for an All-Star-level talent. He needs to be better offensively moving forward and could potentially grow into the great two-way talent he was destined to be, but time is a big factor for Philly right now. This is an organization that wants to compete for a championship now, which is why they may not have time to wait around for Ben Simmons to “get with the program.”
On Portland’s side of things, there have been a lot of talks about Damian Lillard possibly wanting out of Portland. While he has denied these allegations and claims that he wants to win in Portland, Damian Lillard wants to contend for a championship.
READ MORE: Predictions for Latest NBA Trade Rumors: Lillard, LaVine, Simmons, Sexton
The only way he may stay with the Trail Blazers is if GM Neil Olshey and the Blazers’ front-office goes out and adds more talent to their roster. Adding All-Star-caliber talents is a must for the Blazers, which is why C.J. McCollum has now become a talking point in trade talks. He will be a name to watch in trade rumors around the NBA as a result.
The 29-year-old shooting guard has played with Lillard his entire career and they make up one of the better backcourt duos in the league, but McCollum truly is the only valuable asset the Blazers have, which is why they could look to leverage him to add more talent to their roster.
Could we potentially see a Ben Simmons for CJ McCollum swap this offseason? Let’s take a look at this trade presented by Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report and look at what this could mean for both the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers.