The Portland Trail Blazers, to a man, have already been invigorated by the relatability, attention to detail and demand for accountability of rookie coach Chauncey Billups and his coaching staff. Damian Lillard has made clear he's fully committed to the Blazers for now, entering this season more confident than ever that his dreams of winning a championship in Rip City could eventually become reality.
Needless to say, Portland's buoyant, optimistic disposition as training camp begins is a far cry from what was expected in wake of the most controversial offseason in franchise history. Just because they're excited by the promise of 2021-22, though, doesn't mean it's unlimited. The Blazers are still at least one rung below true contention in the Western Conference, and insisted at Media Day they're embracing the sense of urgency prompted by Lillard's summer wavering.
Here are two potential trade candidates for Portland that could help Lillard, Billups and company level up in the league's championship hierarchy.
Trail Blazers trade candidates
The Blazers' most obvious trade candidate is also the one that raises their ceiling highest.
Say what you will about Simmons' complete inability to score outside the paint and his evidently growing reluctance to shoot altogether. The notion he's a role change and system fit away from becoming a suped-up Draymond Green is wildly reductive, too. Simmons isn't anywhere near Green's level as a help defender, most specifically at the rim, and to this point has blanched about occupying a secondary playmaking role anyway. The Giannis Antetokounmpo comparison for an unleashed Simmons playing with four shooters is even more foolish.
But just because Simmons isn't the player anyone wants him to be hardly means he wouldn't help Portland, especially playing in Billups' motion-based offensive attack and aggressive defensive scheme. Lillard is the exceedingly rare superstar playmaker who demands attention from multiple defenders when he steps beyond halfcourt, regularly creating the advantage opportunities in space Simmons needs to be his best. His presence on the other end looms even larger for a team that finished with the second-worst defense in basketball last season. Simmons may not be Green defensively, but is still a monster on-ball defender with the versatility needed to capably check multiple positions and instincts to cover up some of his teammates' mistakes.
There isn't a perfect fit for a player like Simmons in the modern NBA, at least if he's intent on playing like a ball-dominant star offensively. Portland may be the closest thing, and the pressure Lillard put on the organization over the offseason won't evaporate unless his team makes noise in the playoffs. As hopeful as the Blazers are with the regular season fast approaching, they'll always be longshots to win a championship with this current core in place.
Swapping Simmons for a trade package headlined by C.J. McCollum, though? At least Portland would possess a sense of unknown that could be manifested as real contention if everything—literally everything—broke right.
Considered a fixture for the Indiana Pacers after exploding as a scorer in the Orlando bubble, Warren has become an afterthought of sorts due to missing all but the first four games of 2020-21 with a stress fracture in his left foot. He remains out indefinitely despite being nine months removed from first being sidelined, with the Pacers announcing in early September that Warren is not healing “at the pace previously anticipated.”
Complicating matters further is Warren's contract status. He's a free agent after this season, and prior expectations of an extension between Warren and the Pacers have vanished as he tries to return to the floor. Indiana reportedly loves first-round pick Chris Duarte, too, another wrinkle in eventual contract talks with Warren next summer.
Might Kevin Pritchard and Rick Carlisle prefer to get in front of those fraught negotiations, trading Warren for at least some value before the deadline rather than risk him walking come July? It certainly seems plausible, especially given that doing so could unlock the mid-level exception for the Pacers in free agency, their best means of adding an impact player.
Acquiring Warren would be a major gamble for Portland. He wouldn't come cheap via trade despite his diminished value and iffy health status. The Blazers, with Lillard's long-term future still a question mark, aren't exactly in the best position to bring in a player with an injury history extending beyond Warren's current straits. Time is running out on Lillard's prime.
But that's also exactly why betting big on Warren could prove worth it. He emerged as one of basketball's best two-way wings in 2019-20, refining his three-level scoring ability and taking significant strides as an individual defender due to improved quickness and overall engagement. Warren's scalability, both in terms of offensive role and the lineup flexibility he provides at forward, make him an ideal fit on both sides of the ball for Portland—at least at his peak.
Here's hoping Warren gets healthy enough to make his long-anticipated return to the floor soon, in a Blazers jersey or otherwise.
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