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.
A CJ McCollum for Ben Simmons swap has been tossed around time-and-time again this season in trade rumors, but both teams have seemed very noncommittal to said deal. McCollum certainly fits the “All-Star-level” type player the 76ers are looking to get back for Simmons in a trade, but Portland has not been wanting to split their backcourt duo of he and Lillard up.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Inside Blazers-Sixers Trade Talks Centered Around Ben Simmons
As for Portland, they need to get better defensively, as they rank 30th in the league in defensive rating, but there is a lot of baggage that comes with trading for Ben Simmons. He has sat out the entire year thus far and would not only need to get back in shape before joining the Trail Blazers, but because he has not played in so long, there is a higher risk of injury for him.
You cannot base trades off the fact of a player potentially getting injured because anyone can suffer any kind of injury on any given night, but the thing with Simmons is that he is not in shape to play at a high-level yet and if this trade was to be made in February, he may not be ready to go 100% until sometime in late-March!
Assuming they would hold onto Damian Lillard and not trade him elsewhere, this leaves Portland with a very slim window to try and make a serious playoff push, one that may not exist anymore given that they would be trading away a ton of talent to acquire Ben Simmons.
In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris are high-level talents that have carried this team and while their secondary talents of Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry have played well, it is hard to imagine that this team can win a title with these two guards combining to be their “third high-level talent.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Inside Blazers-Sixers Trade Talks Centered Around Ben Simmons
The Philadelphia 76ers need a guy like CJ McCollum who can not only facilitate, but score on any position with or without Embiid and Harris being on the floor. Missing scoring was their flaw in the playoffs last year and with McCollum on this roster, there is no reason why Philadelphia could not reach at least the Eastern Conference Finals this season.
This would certainly be a monumental trade in NBA lore, but at the same time, it could very well spell the demise of the Portland Trail Blazers as we know them. This may not be a risk Portland is willing to take, but they are running out of options as the clock ticks on Damian Lillard’s future.
