POR sends: Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams
*Note: ORL absorbs $19.2m in 24-25 salary in this trade
for ORL: Get the high-scoring Lead Guard to pair next to Suggs in the starting lineup. Spread the floor for Paolo & Franz to work inside while also showcasing (
) emerging PG skills on a limited basis/need. ORL can cover (and maybe even inspire) defensive lapses that limit Simons' value. Williams is, essentially, salary filler, depending on health and availability. He's beyond redundant now for POR with Clingan, so no real loss to them. IF he is able to play, even in limited minutes (like Isaac has), Time Lord makes ORL's stout defense even scarier...ORL has the cap space window prior to their Big 3 rookie extensions kick in - this is their chance to take a leap.for POR: Simons just needs to go so POR can commit to their future vision of Scoot and Sharpe as the starting backcourt. Simons makes too much and is too valuable to be third guard/6th man on a rebuilding team. Now that Brogdon is gone, Cole Anthony makes a more appropriate player for that role - at half the price and probably 75% of the capability of Simons- in that 6th man role. He's only 24, but Anthony is a great personality and teammate for the young core of POR. Two frps in the upcoming draft provide immediate potential for POR to accumulate assets quickly and is as good as they can expect to get for Simons before he simply opts out in a couple of years as a FA, well before POR is peaking. Jett Howard is a significant asset as a recent lottery pick and sharpshooter to complement POR's other young players - who aren't great floor spreaders. IF Williams has neutral to positive value, this is a more than fair deal...if POR sees him as a potentially endless rehab project and an overpaid redundant salary slot...it's a very favorable return. Williams is also a UFA in 2026 and may not even play before that - and, if he does, he's got two younger, bigger, more promising bigs directly in front of him on this roster.
