Damian Lillard Would Like Portland To Trade For Ben Simmons

[RealGM Wiretap]

Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard would reportedly like his team to acquire Ben Simmons. Lillard is pushing the franchise to make significant roster changes, even in the wake of Portland firing Neil Olshey.

In the past, the Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers held discussions that involved moving guard C.J. McCollum, a first-round pick and a young player for Simmons. Talks stalled when Philadelphia asked for McCollum and multiple first-round picks and pick swaps.

Olshey was a fervent supporter of McCollum. Olshey considered McCollum to be "his" draft find and had been reluctant to trade the 30-year-old combo guard.

The Trail Blazers organization hopes that firing Olshey serves a reset for the franchise. With uncertainty looming over Lillard's future, there is a thought the team may look to make changes to keep their star committed to Portland.

Via Shams Charania and Sam Amick/The Atheltic

[LiSTWithLani]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

[dougthonus]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

I think a 1:1 swap with nothing else moving is pretty fair. If Portland offered up a 1st as well, then I think Philly should jump on it. Philly thinking Simmons is multiple 1sts and pick swaps better than McCollum seems a bit delusional given Simmons situation right now.

[LiSTWithLani]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

I think a 1:1 swap with nothing else moving is pretty fair. If Portland offered up a 1st as well, then I think Philly should jump on it. Philly thinking Simmons is multiple 1sts and pick swaps better than McCollum seems a bit delusional given Simmons situation right now.

Meanwhile, McCollum is playing well and has been nothing but a great teammate.

[DowNY]

Lol bless Dame’s heart if that’s true

[spree2kawhi]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

CJ is twice the player Simmons is.

[LiSTWithLani]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

CJ is twice the player Simmons is.

Then you talk about salaries... I don't get the Simmons hype. He plays defense, but also had Embiid behind him and excellent defenders around him. He disappeared when it mattered and is supremely flawed as a primary ballhandler.

[spree2kawhi]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

CJ is twice the player Simmons is.

Then you talk about salaries... I don't get the Simmons hype. He plays defense, but also had Embiid behind him and excellent defenders around him. He disappeared when it mattered and is supremely flawed as a primary ballhandler.

Ummm you do realize that I agree, don’t you?

[LiSTWithLani]

CJ is twice the player Simmons is.

Then you talk about salaries... I don't get the Simmons hype. He plays defense, but also had Embiid behind him and excellent defenders around him. He disappeared when it mattered and is supremely flawed as a primary ballhandler.

Ummm you do realize that I agree, don’t you?

Yes haha, just hammering the point home!

[Lalouie]

OK. so what this means once and for all is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

,,,,,,,lillard is staying. so wiretap can stop taking up space with all the lillard trade talk.

i'm also pretty sure he's realistic enough to know that his buddy mccullum would be part of the trade

[thenbaman]

If the sixers do trade simmons its going to be for you dumbass.

[PoundTown]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

I think a 1:1 swap with nothing else moving is pretty fair. If Portland offered up a 1st as well, then I think Philly should jump on it. Philly thinking Simmons is multiple 1sts and pick swaps better than McCollum seems a bit delusional given Simmons situation right now.

No picks should be given up by Blazers. McCollum for Simmons straight up unless there is more salary needed to make a deal work. It would shift the Blazers to possibly become a pretty strong defensive team. Also, Simmons is a capable perimeter scorer off the bench. A veteran, depth addition and they might look pretty nice. All the pressure would now be on Dame however from an offensive perspective. All I know is the pair of CJ and Dame won't get it done.

[Slim Charless]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

I think a 1:1 swap with nothing else moving is pretty fair. If Portland offered up a 1st as well, then I think Philly should jump on it. Philly thinking Simmons is multiple 1sts and pick swaps better than McCollum seems a bit delusional given Simmons situation right now.

No picks should be given up by Blazers. McCollum for Simmons straight up unless there is more salary needed to make a deal work. It would shift the Blazers to possibly become a pretty strong defensive team. Also, Simmons is a capable perimeter scorer off the bench. A veteran, depth addition and they might look pretty nice. All the pressure would now be on Dame however from an offensive perspective. All I know is the pair of CJ and Dame won't get it done.

CJ is having his worst year since almost his rookie season. 1 for 1 deal is in no way an even trade. Despite ALL his issues, Ben is still an all world defender and is like 5 years younger than CJ to boot.

PDX needs to toss in Nance, plus a couple of picks as well to make this even. I'd say RoCo but he has also fallen off.

Either way, CJ ≠ Simmons

[LAKESHOW]

Well at least we know now who wanted to fire Neil oshey. Cause that team will crash and burn with ben simmons

[dougthonus]

CJ is having his worst year since almost his rookie season. 1 for 1 deal is in no way an even trade. Despite ALL his issues, Ben is still an all world defender and is like 5 years younger than CJ to boot.

PDX needs to toss in Nance, plus a couple of picks as well to make this even. I'd say RoCo but he has also fallen off.

Either way, CJ ≠ Simmons

CJ is having his worst year? How good is Simmons year?

Last we saw Simmons he was scared to dunk the ball and was completely shattered mentally. Is Simmons an all-world anything? Who would know at this point. His deal also runs a year longer and may be dead money if he can't get his head out of his ass, which no one can tell because he refuses to play. Simmons was possibly not worth his deal even prior to him falling apart based on his complete and total lack of improvement in four seasons.

What we do know right now is that Philly is out of the playoffs, so unless they want to piss away the rest of Embiid's prime, and who knows how long he'll ever stay healthy, then they probably want to figure out how to get something helpful. Maybe if Brooklyn is willing to put Kyrie on the table for Simmons that's a better deal for Philly, but I'm not sure who else is a potentially better player / fit for their team.

That said, with Maxey and Seth both having big years it is questionable whether or not McCollum does anything for them.

[23artest23]

Does anybody else think that McCollum is underrated and Simmons is way overrated? If Portland makes this trade, they'll regret it. I think that Portland is stuck in no man's land and should consider moving Lillard. Similar to Toronto with DeRozan, it might be time to move on, this pair isn't going anywhere.

No, you are definitely not alone with those thoughts. CJ has started the year out below his standards but I'd take him over Simmons, the massively bloated contract that comes with him, and the poor work ethic that has resulted in his shot not improving over the course of years and years. Ben is the kind of guy that wants to hang with celebrities, party, and spend his $$$ rather than improve his shortcomings. He doesn't need to tell us that because his actions have spoke it for years. The defense is good but it doesn't make up for issues that come otherwise. It blows my mind that so many fans around the league want to see Simmons as their starting PG. I personally can't imagine trying to construct a postseason winner around a guy like Ben. If a team wants to play 4v5, just sit a guy and save the assets and $$$. No need to pay Ben millions for that.

[dougthonus]

No, you are definitely not alone with those thoughts. CJ has started the year out below his standards but I'd take him over Simmons, the massively bloated contract that comes with him

While it is a year shorter, it's worth nothing that CJ's contract is also awful and bloated.

[Slim Charless]

CJ is having his worst year since almost his rookie season. 1 for 1 deal is in no way an even trade. Despite ALL his issues, Ben is still an all world defender and is like 5 years younger than CJ to boot.

PDX needs to toss in Nance, plus a couple of picks as well to make this even. I'd say RoCo but he has also fallen off.

Either way, CJ ≠ Simmons

CJ is having his worst year? How good is Simmons year?

Last we saw Simmons he was scared to dunk the ball and was completely shattered mentally. Is Simmons an all-world anything? Who would know at this point. His deal also runs a year longer and may be dead money if he can't get his head out of his ass, which no one can tell because he refuses to play. Simmons was possibly not worth his deal even prior to him falling apart based on his complete and total lack of improvement in four seasons.

What we do know right now is that Philly is out of the playoffs, so unless they want to piss away the rest of Embiid's prime, and who knows how long he'll ever stay healthy, then they probably want to figure out how to get something helpful. Maybe if Brooklyn is willing to put Kyrie on the table for Simmons that's a better deal for Philly, but I'm not sure who else is a potentially better player / fit for their team.

That said, with Maxey and Seth both having big years it is questionable whether or not McCollum does anything for them.

Wrong.

We know that Simmons made 1st team all defense last year and came in 2nd place for DPOTY. We also know he's 5 years younger, much taller, more athletic and can play multiple positions.

You can talk about his lack of shooting but adding him to your team should make your defense top ten. He's a great guy to put next to Dame as he will make things easier defensively.

CJ is down across the board in almost every stat and gets injured alot.

There's no way he's worth Simmons. I highly doubt Morey will make that 1-1 trade.

[dougthonus]

Wrong.

We know that Simmons made 1st team all defense last year and came in 2nd place for DPOTY. We also know he's 5 years younger, much taller, more athletic and can play multiple positions.

You can talk about his lack of shooting but adding him to your team should make your defense top ten. He's a great guy to put next to Dame as he will make things easier defensively.

CJ is down across the board in almost every stat and gets injured alot.

There's no way he's worth Simmons. I highly doubt Morey will make that 1-1 trade.

The Ben Simmons you described is Ben Simmons of a year ago. That guy definitely had more value than CJ McCollum and also no longer exists.

The Ben Simmons of today had a mental breakdown and is incapable of playing basketball per his own description of himself. Last we saw him he was scared to attempt a wide open dunk and had a complete collapse.

Perhaps Ben Simmons can revert to Ben Simmons of a year ago, but that is a leap of faith.

FYI, even discounting all the games he missed due to his ACL in his first season, Simmons has played in 194 games vs McCollum's 211 over the stretch covering the rest of his career. Add in the ACL year and he's missed about 3x as many games over the course of his career while they have both been on an NBA roster.

So no, Simmons hasn't show better availability as a whole, certainly not enough to claim that injury history is a reason to avoid McCollum.

[ProcessDoctor]

Morey will not trade Simmons for a nearly 30-year-old scoring guard unless Portland includes their draft for the next 5 years. Not saying I agree or disagree, but I think that's the reality of the situation.