Anfernee Simons continued staking his claim as a cog of the Portland Trail Blazers' present and future on Saturday night, playing the half of basketball of his life. He cooled off after a scintillating first two quarters that included 26 points and seven triples, but made his impact keenly felt regardless as the Washington Wizards sold out even harder to stop him.

By the time the fourth quarter buzzer sounded, Simons was up to 31 points and 11 assists—tying a career-high set last week against the Brooklyn Nets—on 11-of-21 shooting, leading the still-depleted Blazers to a fourth win in six games. He's averaging 28.3 points and 8.2 assists as Portland's primary playmaker over that timeframe, taking full advantage of sweeping offensive responsibilities he'd never before been afforded.

But Simons' time as the Blazers' undisputed lead ball-handler is coming to an end. C.J. McCollum will return to the court on Monday against the Orlando Magic after missing the last six weeks due to a collapsed right lung, and Norman Powell should soon clear health-and-safety protocols. There's still a chance Damian Lillard comes back in March after completing post-surgery rehab, too.

As its veteran guards make their way back to the lineup, though, it's incumbent on Portland to ensure Simons' ongoing evolution isn't interrupted. The simplest means of doing so? Breaking up the Blazers' surplus of high-usage scorers on the perimeter.

Here are two reasons why Simons' breakout makes Portland more likely to trade C.J. McCollum.

More touches, more growth

It's no coincidence that Simons began realizing his sky-high potential on a regular basis once a rash of health issues left the Blazers without each of their three starting guards. He alluded to that dynamic following his team's stunning win over Brooklyn, a game in which Simons never found his jumper but at times looked like the best player on the floor regardless.

“Obviously I have the ball a lot in my hands, so I’m able to feel the game out a lot more,” Simons said. “When I come off the bench, I come in right away and be on the attack trying to score. But now I can take my time, read the defense, pass it a couple times, then go look to score—just play the game for a longer stretch of time.”

Chauncey Billups can see the fruits of Simons' labor in real-time, too.

“He's just growing up in front of our eyes,” Billups said following Saturday's win.

Player development isn't linear. Even if Simons was Portland's top offensive option for the season's remainder, it's inevitable that he'd eventually come back down to earth from his exalted current heights. But assuring that level of play eventually becomes Simons' new normal means the Blazers need to reorganize their pecking order on the perimeter, an uncomfortable task made far more palatable if McCollum was playing elsewhere.

Lillard is entrenched in Rip City until he directs otherwise, and Powell is a more versatile two-way player than McCollum, locked into a fairly reasonable multi-year contract.

Keeping three high-usage guards might be untenable for Portland as interim GM Joe Cronin looks to revamp the roster. Retaining four players of that archetype is definitely a waste of resources, though, especially as Simons' meteoric rise comes hand-in-hand with him moonlighting as Portland's alpha dog.

Financial Flexibility

The Blazers signed Lillard and McCollum to tandem extensions in wake of their run to the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Whether or not you agreed with that decision at the time, what's abundantly clear today is that departed head decision-maker Neil Olshey committed far too much long-term money to an aging, undersized backcourt. Portland owes Lillard and McCollum between $75-$82 million annually over the next two seasons, almost 70% of the projected salary cap.

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Olshey compounded that problem in August, inking Powell to a fully-guaranteed five-year, $80 million deal that comes off the books in the summer of 2026. It's not like Olshey had much of a choice after swapping pending restricted free agent Gary Trent Jr. for Powell at the trade deadline. The Blazers had to get something more than a half-season rental of Powell in exchange for moving Trent, and the market set a price that ended up looking fair.

A somewhat similar situation is facing Portland now with Simons due a massive payday come July.

Trent's new contract with the Toronto Raptors is worth just over $17 million a year, and Duncan Robinson re-upped with the Miami Heat over the offseason for up to $17.9 million annually. The early-season expectation those deals could provide a blueprint for Simons' dip into restricted free agency, though, now seems wildly outdated. Fred Van Vleet's four-year, $85 million contract from Toronto is a more appropriate analog for Simons' potential deal.

Either way, there's no world in which the Blazers enter next season with all four of their guards still on the roster. McCollum was more likely trade bait than Powell even before Simons began taking the league by storm. With a steep raise for the latter imminent, Portland must shed a significant amount of salary before 2022-23 to avoid approaching the cap with just its backcourt regulars alone.

Even if they're forced to move McCollum for a middling return at best, the Blazers need to do it. Not only does Simons' continued development hinge on that prospect, but so does Portland's ability to rebuild the roster on the fly around he and Lillard.