Portland Trail Blazers: 3 players most likely to be traded this season

The Portland Trail Blazers may be deeper this season, but this doesn’t mean they won’t make more moves. Which 3 players are most likely to be traded this season?

The Portland Trail Blazers are back to being a deep team again. They have multiple players in every position, and bar Zach Collins will have every player fit come opening night.

This offseason though, Neil Olshey showed the urgency required to maximize Damian Lillard‘s prime. He used every tool in the Blazers arsenal to improve the team.

He traded Trevor Ariza and two first-round picks to bring back Robert Covington and then used a trade exception to bring back Enes Kanter. He used a second-round pick to bring in a more mature and older college player in CJ Elleby, and he also used the mid-level exception to sign Derrick Jones Jr.

Olshey is making serious moves now to make this team a title contender. This also signals his intention to keep the team competitive however he sees fit.

This could mean via trade in the future as well.

Which 3 players are most likely to be traded this season?

Trade Option #1 – Anfernee Simons

Anfernee Simons is about to start the third season of his fledgling NBA career, but the backup combo guard’s clock is ticking.

After barely playing in his first season and then falling out of the rotation in his second season, the onus is on Simons to take a big step forward this season. If he doesn’t, then he could be on the trade block.

In the 2020 season, Simons was one of the worst combo guards in terms of assist rate. He really struggled to set his teammates up. Simons shooting wasn’t as bad, but 33 percent from three and 39 percent from midrange aren’t good enough for a combo guard who isn’t assisting others.

His sub standard defense means that his other skills need to be of a high level.

As the Blazers need to commit a significant amount of salary to Gary Trent Jr. as a backup guard next season, Simons will have a short leash.

Because of the reliance on him to be the backup point guard this season, if he cannot do this or if there is an injury to a guard, then Simons could be moved to bring in ball handling back up.