3 Players the Portland Trail Blazers should trade for in the 2021 NBA offseason
The Portland Trail Blazers are on notice from superstar guard Damian Lillard. The roster they have now isn't ready to compete for an NBA Championship and he desires being surrounded by parts that will allow him to compete.
If that doesn't come to fruition, it may lead to the end of the Dame era for the Portland Trail Blazers organization. In order to keep their superstars happy and committed, moves are necessary and they need to be aggressive moves.
What 3 Players should the Portland Trail Blazers attempt to trade for this offseason?
There have been a number of star players already in the headlines this offseason and we haven't even reached the conclusion of the NBA Finals yet. In addition to the situation regarding Damian Lillard, players like Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards are being monitored by rival teams.
One of those players makes the cut for someone the Portland Trail Blazers should pursue via trade while the other doesn't, mostly because it doesn't seem reasonable for them to acquire him.
#1 Ben Simmons
The Portland Trail Blazers would be wise to aggressively pursue the Sixers ball handler in a deal centered around guard CJ McCollum. While Simmons' time in Philadelphia may need to come to a conclusion, that doesn't change the fact that he's a generational talent with a rare skillset.
The fit of Simmons alongside Joel Embiid was never ideal, but the Portland Trail Blazers can use Simmons in ways the 76ers never could. His defensive prowess would change the Portland Trail Blazers on that end of the floor.
Offensively he could take on a more off-ball role by playing next to Dame. His shooting, or lack thereof, would be at least slightly masked by using him in this way offensively.
He is a much more natural fit as the star next to Dame than McCollum is. The Portland Trail Blazers have to know their backcourt duo has run its course and getting a two-way dynamic talent like Simmons in a package built around McCollum would have to be considered a huge win.
The Sixers would also be getting a huge win as they'd get a scoring guard that forms a lethal offensive combination alongside Embiid. The fit is more natural on the 76ers side of this deal but the Portland Trail Blazers' need for change is enough to make this kind of deal well worth it for them as well.