Predicting when every member of Trail Blazers' starting 5 might leave
By Reese Kunz
The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the teams to monitor between now and the start of the 2024-25 NBA regular season. They are still in the early stages of their rebuilding process, entering their second season without superstar Damian Lillard. Portland had a long season last year, finishing with a 21-61 record.
The Blazers do not want to significantly improve their record in the upcoming season as they look to position themselves for another top-ten selection in the 2025 NBA Draft. As a result, multiple established starters become potential trade pieces as they look to acquire younger assets that better fit their rebuilding timeline.
Anfernee Simons is traded before training camp
Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian believes that one of Anfernee Simons or Jerami Grant will be traded before training camp, and that comes to fruition in this scenario. Grant is the most apparent trade piece in terms of being the only player on the roster who is 30 years or older, but Simons is arguably the one that is more pressing for the Blazers to move on from.
Simons is creating a roster conundrum by forcing one of Portland's rising stars—Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe—who they are set on being the focal points of the rebuild, to come off the bench. Simons is younger and on a better contract than Grant, meaning it should be easier for the Blazers to find potential trade partners for the combo guard.
Additionally, he has one of the highest trade values on the Blazers' roster. Simons is more likely than Grant to net a return that adheres to general manager Joe Cronin's high standards in trade negotiations.