The Portland Trail Blazers should try to acquire another first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by sending Anfernee Simons to the Orlando Magic. If Portland can flip Simons into the No. 16 overall pick and a few young assets -- ideally, Anthony Black, but more realistically, someone like Jett Howard and/or Cole Anthony -- they'd be well-positioned to restructure their roster around their young core on draft day.
Draft analyst Jonathan Givony mentioned in ESPN's post-combine mock draft that many NBA insiders view a tier of eight players emerging, which Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Khaman Maluach, and Kon Knueppel round out.
The draft is unpredictable after the first two picks, but if those eight players are, in fact, the first eight off the board, it puts Portland in a prime position to land Simons' potential replacement at No. 11.
Who should the Blazers draft after trading Anfernee Simons?
As long as the Raptors and Rockets don't go back-to-back combo guards, the Trail Blazers could have one of Kasparas Jakucionis or Egor Demin available.
They have the size to play both on and off the ball to fit in well with the Trail Blazers' up-and-coming backcourt with their ability to spell both Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. That would solve their current issue of being unable to play Simons and Henderson effectively alongside each other. It also gives Portland more insurance in case Henderson or Sharpe doesn't pan out as expected, offering another high-upside guard option.
Then, the Trail Blazers could use the Magic's No. 16 pick to address one of their other glaring weaknesses in their forward depth. Despite falling outside of that perceived top-eight tier, this strong draft class gives Portland a silver lining. In this scenario, one of the many reasons the Trail Blazers go guard at No. 11 is the intriguing forward options potentially available at No. 16.
Portland would need just one of Collin Murray-Boyles, Carter Bryant, or Noa Essengue to fall to them, and their foundation would be set.
The one bad part of this strategy is that the Oklahoma City Thunder pick at No. 15, so you know they will nail that pick and leave Portland with the scraps. But even if the top forward targets are off the board at this point, there are still prospects like Liam McNeeley or Rasheer Fleming in the mix, leaving them with plenty of forward options to pick from at that point.
What Portland's future depth chart could look like
Looking ahead, Portland's young core could be:
- PG: Scoot Henderson | Jakucionis/Demin
- SG: Shaedon Sharpe | Jakucionis/Demin
- SF: Toumani Camara | Essengue/CMB/Bryant
- PF: Deni Avdija | Essengue/CMB/Bryant
- C: Donovan Clingan
This wouldn't be their immediate depth chart with several veterans like Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton still on the roster, but it would be what they are trending toward.
These moves would be a tremendous step in the right direction to give Portland's roster more clarity in terms of hierarchy. They also would bolster their current identity as a team that prioritizes length by bringing in a 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-8 guard (Demin was the tallest guard ever measured at the combine) in the equation and pairing him with a versatile forward.
For this outcome to become a reality, Portland would need several things to break their way on draft day, but it's not out of the question. And it starts with one long-overdue move: sending Simons back home.