Anfernee Simons Is Turning Himself Into A Long-Term Asset

With the Portland Trail Blazers pivoting into a new era after the firing of general manager Neil Olshey, the future of several players remains up in the air, especially with the 2022 NBA trade deadline fast approaching.

One player, however, seems to be doing all he possibly can do to convince the organization of his long-term staying power, and that’s fourth-year guard Anfernee Simons.

Taking a leap

The 22-year-old combo guard has started in place of injured superstar Damian Lillard of late, and has put up stats that are eerily similar to what Lillard himself is prone to produce. 

During his last five games, Simons is putting up 27.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game, attempting 11.2 nightly three-pointers during that period, hitting a whopping 44.6% of them.

On the year, Simons is netting 14.1 points and 2.9 assists in 26.0 minutes.

The scoring explosion is of course a response to an immediate need the Blazers have of point production with Lillard – and teammate C.J. McCollum – sidelined. Someone had to score, but for Simons to do so with such efficiency has been a welcomed surprise.

Adding to the surprise is Simons’ playmaking, which was never considered a particular strong suit of his. Coming into the league, Simons was mostly pegged as a scoring combo guard who was likely best used as a type of sixth man. If his current production in that department is a sign of more to time, that perception will quickly change inside league offices around the NBA.

While the five-game sample size is of course limited, and doesn’t present a full picture of Simons long-term, it’s likely enough of an attention grabber around the league, that Simons has added his name to several offseason whiteboards.

The former first-round pick is going to be a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer, as the Blazers wanted another year to gauge his production.

Establishing a market

On the surface, the Blazers might appear to be in control of the situation. They can match any offer sheet that Simons signs, and the league as a whole expects 2022 free agency to have limited signings due to most teams having locked themselves in financially for another few years.

However, what would the Blazers do if a team over the cap approached Simons’ camp, and told them they were willing to pay handsomely for his services, but the Blazers needed to agree to a sign-and-trade?

Sure, the Blazers could refuse and offer Simons what they thought would be an appropriate contractual figure. But since players are human beings with needs, emotions and rational thought, it’s fair to wonder if Simons would sour on the Blazers for blocking a direct path to higher income on his part.

For the Blazers, there’s also the possibility of trying to sell teams on the idea of trading for Simons now, so they acquire his RFA rights. In other years, teams could argue they could just try to sign him as a free agent, but with so few teams limited financially in what they can do, it might behoove teams to trade for young players entering RFA so they can go over the cap to re-sign them.

Or, the Blazers could make Simons completely off-limits until they’ve resolved other areas of their roster, such as figuring out what to do with McCollum and even Lillard, should they pivot into a youth movement.

Remember, the Blazers needn’t keep Lillard around for any price if they deem it impossible to build a proper roster around him with the pieces they do have available for trades.

In fact, moving Lillard and starting over could be a perfectly viable solution if the return from a Lillard trade sets them up with additional young players, expiring contracts and draft picks.

The Blazers are, after all, not much of a competitor this season, having won just 16 out of 40 games and ranking tenth in the West, which is an end-of-season projection shared by FanDuel Sportsbook. With Lillard turning 32 this year, it’s fair to play with open cards, as any re-tooling process likely takes another year or two. Will Lillard have the patience for that?

If trading Lillard is the route they end up taking, having Simons in-hand is a strong card to have, as that’s one less building block they’d need to acquire. 

For Simons, that speculation remains a long way away. 

The Blazers still have another 42 games to go in the season, which is a lot of time for Simons to either cement his new play as being reliable, or prove it was a series of flashes that couldn’t be replicated. Only time will tell.