We all know the Orlando Magic are the best fit for Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons. There's finally legitimate traction to what was once largely speculation; this could be the summer a deal gets done after fans spent years forcing it with endless trade machines.
Orlando checks every box for a Simons trade: hometown ties, a dire need for shooting and secondary playmaking, stars that fit his timeline, the length and defense to cover for him, and a roster that might be one piece away from making real playoff noise.
However, several other teams around the league also fit most of these criteria. One thing we love about the NBA is the infinite chaos. We never really know what to expect, and a surprising team could emerge to snag Simons this summer.
Memphis Grizzlies
Simons fits the Grizzlies' timeline perfectly, as their core trio is all 25 or 26. With former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. and a 7-foot-4 center in Zach Edey, who we can best describe as the Game of Thrones giant Wun Wun, it's safe to say the Grizzlies have a frontcourt well-equipped to complement Simons.
Memphis quietly has underrated depth, but they could benefit from a starting lineup upgrade. Simons' combo guard skillset allows him to slide in alongside Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. He also would provide insurance for Morant, who was limited to 50 games this past season due to a multitude of injuries.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks are officially on one of the strangest timelines in NBA history. GM Nico Harrison sacrificed their future by trading Luka Doncic in his prime for a then-31-year-old Anthony Davis, only to get bailed out by winning the rights to draft generational prospect Cooper Flagg with just a 1.8 percent chance.
Enter Simons, who could help make sense of it all.
He can run the point while Kyrie Irving recovers from his ACL injury and can slide over to the two when he returns. That would be a problematic backcourt defensively, but the Mavericks have Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and now somehow Flagg (whose best trait is his defense) to compensate.
Simons sits right between the Davis-Irving timeline and the new Flagg era, offering Dallas a bridge to maintain competitiveness for the next decade-plus. Whether Harrison will look that far into the future is a valid question. But ESPN's Shams Charania did report that Dallas will pursue a point guard this summer after Kyrie Irving's unfortunate ACL injury.
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons were the NBA's best story of 2024–25. That is, until their rival, the Indiana Pacers, stole the spotlight with a Cinderella run to the Finals. In just one season, Detroit quickly went from the laughing stock of the league to a team no one wants to see in the playoffs, improving their win total from 14 to 44.
They have an ascending superstar in Cade Cunningham and need to ensure they give him the pieces he needs to have a chance at a deep playoff run. Cunningham is special in that he's a jumbo creator who can play positions one through three with his frame, ballhandling, and shooting. That versatility makes Simons an ideal backcourt partner.
The Pistons' offense is built around Cunningham and shooters, and it's highly effective in the modern NBA. You can't guard Cunningham one-on-one with his size, but he hurts you even more if you send help.
The one threat to derail this working formula is that Detroit's sharpshooters -- Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. -- are set to hit free agency. Simons would immediately fill that void as a knockdown shooter, but he'd also give Detroit something Beasley and Hardaway can't offer as a secondary playmaker to help ease Cunningham's offensive burden.