Too Much Trade Package: Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and No. 3 for Brandon Ingram
In the spirit of trying to “win” a trade, NBA teams will often anchor high with their initial asking price for a star player. Sometimes their stars go for that lofty asking price, like Kevin Durant going for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and a bevy of picks.
Other times the package is much smaller, like what the San Antonio Spurs got for Kawhi Leonard.
If the Pelicans are intent on trying to squeeze as much value out of the Blazers as possible, they’d ask for Shaedon Sharpe in any trade. Sharpe didn’t make an NBA All-Rookie team, but by the end of the season, he’d flashed a massive ceiling as a scoring wing and seemed to have established himself as one of the young studs to watch next year in the league:
If you have a redraft of the 2022 NBA draft, there is a very good chance Shaedon Sharpe goes number 1.
— Blazers Palace (@blazers_palace) June 7, 2023
Special special talent that belongs in #ripcity forever
pic.twitter.com/5Soc0J5hur
A package of Sharpe, Simons, and, in theory, Scoot Henderson, would be the type of offer that a team would put together to chase a star like Durant, Jayson Tatum, or Luka Doncic. For Brandon Ingram, a one-time All-Star who hasn’t made an All-NBA team, it would be an overpay that would set the Blazers back for a few years and hurt their playoff chances.
While it’s hard to find an exact trade package that would fit both teams just right, this wouldn’t be that deal, as the Trail Blazers would give up too much in their quest to give Lillard the second star he’s craved for so long.