The highly anticipated NBA Draft Lottery finally took place, with the Portland Trail Blazers securing the No. 11 overall pick. And now that the Blazers officially have the eleventh spot in the 2025 NBA Draft, it immediately puts one veteran in particular on the chopping block: Anfernee Simons.
The Blazers had a 18.5 percent chance of that occurring after losing the tiebreaker coin flip to the Phoenix Suns. Although it would have been great to land a top-four pick, they only had a 16.9 percent chance of that being the case.
The silver lining is that the 2025 class is projected to be strong, well beyond the headliners. Several intriguing guard prospects are projected to be selected around the No. 11 pick range.
Guard-heavy draft gives Blazers golden opportunity to reshape backcourt
Tre Johnson and Kon Knueppel may go earlier but would immediately address Portland's dire need for shooting. Jeremiah Fears isn't a perfect fit, but he could be the best available player when they're on the clock if he falls.
Some more realistic options also include Jase Richardson, Nolan Traore, or Egor Demin. However, of that group, the ideal guard the Blazers should be targeting is Kasparas Jakucionis out of Illinois.
The eleventh spot isn't exactly where Blazers fans wanted to be entering the 2024-25 season, with the expectation being that Portland would be firmly in the running for Cooper Flagg following their 21-win season and just two offseason acquisitions.
But the Blazers' young core was too talented to bottom out, playing a significant role in their end-of-season play-in push with key veterans out. Portland now has playoff aspirations for the 2025-26 season. This could be their last golden opportunity to add a top-eleven pick to their young core, depending on what they decide to do with Milwaukee's future picks and how the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation plays out.
Portland has solidified its frontcourt of the future between Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija, and Toumani Camara. But their backcourt, which was previously a strength, now has the most significant question marks.
It's possible the Blazers already have building blocks in place with Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, but both still have some flaws in their inconsistent games that need to be sorted out. That uncertainty, combined with Simons' contract expiring after next season and the strength of the guard class, makes it logical for the Blazers to draft his successor now.
Several guard prospects previously mentioned are also combo guards, making it a seamless swap for Simons. They can also be an insurance policy for Henderson or Sharpe if one doesn't pan out as expected.
Perhaps the Blazers could even trade Simons before the draft for an additional first-round pick, using one to draft his replacement and another to address their wing/forward depth.
The Blazers were overdue for lottery luck after moving up just three times in franchise history, but unfortunately, that luck will have to be put on hold. Still, there's plenty to be excited about, as this draft opens up new opportunities and gives the Blazers added flexibility to trade key veterans during a pivotal summer for their rebuild.
And at the top of that list should be Anfernee Simons.