NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that he's not as optimistic that the Boston Celtics will be able to find a trade partner for Anfernee Simons (relative to Georges Niang). The gap in talent and impact on winning doesn't equate to the gap in salary.
"He's going to be looking to play into another big contract. Any team looking to trade for him right now is going to be a team that has to be considering what his next deal will look like," said Fischer.
That latest development signals that the Portland Trail Blazers were right to move on from their combo guard.
Blazers were smart to trade Anfernee Simons while they could
Blazers general manager Joe Cronin came to the same realization that is making other teams hesitant to sacrifice assets to land Simons. He's already owed $22 million for next season, and could easily command more than that annually in his next deal as a 20-point scorer just entering his prime.
The issue is that Simons' skillset as an offensive-minded combo guard doesn't equate to winning and, as a result, isn't a valued archetype around the league.
Given his poor fit with Portland's rebuilding timeline, Jrue Holiday may not have been the ideal player to flip for Simons in a straight one-for-one swap. But that trade is at least looking better for the Blazers after considering Simons' limited value around the league and the fact that Portland is still set to have significant cap space next summer to upgrade its roster. Holiday's veteran presence may align much better with Portland's roster a year from now when they are looking to make a legitimate playoff push after Damian Lillard returns and they bring in other external pieces to help achieve that.
Moving Simons this offseason would have been a wise decision for any team, but especially in the Blazers' situation. Trading offense (Simons) for defense (Holiday) will increase opportunities for Portland's young core, particularly Scoot Henderson, aiding both development and evaluation.
It also plays right into the identity the Blazers want to emphasize as a defensive-minded team. Simons had the worst defensive rating on the team last season (119.0). Going from that to a six-time All-Defensive player is a significant upgrade and should result in a top-ten defensive season for the Blazers.
Cronin should have moved Simons even earlier. Still, he also deserves credit for recognizing his limited trade value and pulling the plug rather than allowing Portland to face the inevitable lose-lose scenario of overpaying or losing him for nothing.