The Philadelphia 76ers have recently been eliminated in Game 7 by the upstart Atlanta Hawks. While the game was close throughout, the 76ers were simply outmatched when it came to the 4th quarter. All-Star Ben Simmons notably had a gaffe that has been covered all over the media, with him passing up an open layup in favor of a pass to a contested Matisse Thybulle.
Many have said that the Ben Simmons – Joel Embiid partnership must come to an end. Simmons has been in trade rumors ahead of the trade deadline during the 2020-21 season, and it is conceivable that he gets traded this summer. One trade scenario from Andy Bailey features the star point guard being dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers for CJ McCollum.
The idea of a swap built around Simmons and Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has long been a pipe dream of this writer, and it may make more sense now than it ever has.
The Blazers might also be at an organizational crossroads after losing to a Denver Nuggets squad that didn’t have Jamal Murray and parting ways with head coach Terry Stotts soon after.
Simmons potentially serving as a bigger, bouncier version of Draymond Green could make Portland something of a Golden State Warriors facsimile, with Damian Lillard playing the Stephen Curry role.
Jusuf Nurkic has dipped his toe in the floor-spacing game (he was 12-of-30 from three in 2020-21), so the Blazers could conceivably surround Simmons with enough shooting to offset his refusal to put them up.
He’d instantly be the best defender Portland has had in years too.
For Philadelphia, McCollum is older, smaller (6’3″, 190 lbs) and perhaps possesses a bit less raw talent, but it’s hard to not be intrigued by the fit. The 29-year-old took 8.9 threes per game this season and hit 40.2 percent of those attempts. He has plenty of experience running point after years as a pseudo-backup to Lillard.
With him, Curry, Green and Tobias Harris outside, defenses would be in a terrible pick-your-poison scenario. Do we double Embiid and get killed from the outside, or do we stay home and let Embiid dominate the post?
The details may need some hashing out, but the general framework on a Simmons-McCollum swap makes sense for both sides.
If that isn’t on the table, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey almost certainly needs to look around the league for other options. And his history as an executive shows he’s probably willing to do that.
Ben Simmons would surely uplift the Portland Trail Blazers’ defense, which was one of the worst defenses in the league. At the same time, CJ McCollum would give the 76ers a more dynamic guard who can create his own shot in late-game situations.
While the 76ers would certainly prefer to acquire a bonafide superstar to pair with Joel Embiid, it is possible that Ben Simmons’ value dropped after his playoff performances in recent memory so players like Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal may be out of reach. It remains to be seen whether both teams execute a potential trade, but in the NBA, anything can happen.
