If CJ were to be traded, who are we most likely to get?

Six potential trades for Ben Simmons:

CJ McCollum: If the Blazers don’t trade Lillard they could try to move McCollum to mix things up in Portland. Or, if they do trade Lillard to somewhere other than Philadelphia, they could move McCollum as well to complete the blowup. Either way, McCollum is a player the Sixers should have interest in. McCollum wouldn’t be the same kind of addition Lillard would be, but he is exactly what the Sixers need, as he averaged 23.1 points-per-game and shot 40% from three on 8.9 attempts.

Simmons isn’t anywhere as good as McCollum, so the Sixers would have to package picks with him if they did make a deal with the Blazers — but likely not as much as they would have to in a deal for Lillard.

The Trade: Simmons, 2023 1st-round pick for McCollum

https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports/76-ers/six-potential-trades-for-ben-simmons

 

Replace the pick with Thybulle - even if we have to throw in a future first to get it done

 

I mean, I wouldn't turn down a first with Simmons but I think that is a fantasy. Cj for simmons straight up I think is most likely. But, I'd be more than happy to add Seth Curry and DJJ to the deal if they wanted to (doubt they would).

 

But that’s why they’re not going to trade him right now lol. A lot of things can happen between now and next season. If Ben plays in the Olympics, he’ll be a PF or C because Patty Mills runs the point for Australia. That alone will drive up his value because people are going to remember “oh yeah, he’s not really a PG but he can still be elite at another position”.

We have to remember that if it is officially announced that Ben is for sure on the trading block, there WILL be teams trying to get him . I don’t hate CJ and I like him for who he is. He’s a shot maker who has had success running an offense in games with Dame out. He’s an elite catch and shoot guy. But...BUT...eventually people will remember that Ben is an elite defender and passer for someone his size. In the end, if a top-20 or even lotto protected 1st is the hold up on a Ben for CJ trade to you, then I would assume you don’t actually want Ben on the squad.

The 1st in that scenario is also getting Curry for DJJ. It’s not as crazy of a trade scenario as it sounds lol. Curry is going to help Dame more than any guard chosen with the 20th pick in any draft for the next couple years.

 

Sounds like Dame time.

 

Exactly

CJ + Jones + a #2 round pick

Simmons + Curry ….and we NEED Curry as he’d replace some of CJ’s point production we’d be losing.

 

Curry isn’t going anywhere if Doc is coaching there, that’s my gut feeling.

 

Yeah that is a good point. Although if I am Seth do I really want to play for my father n law? Risky

 

The big obstacle I see in a CJ/Simmons swap is time. The further we get away from this debacle, the more people will remember all the good things Simmons does since entering the NBA that got him his large contract.

That will be true for CJ as well. GM's will be sold the idea that he was playing like a superstar early this season before his injury, and how good he always looks when Dame sits. So some of that balances out.

But even if that's a net wash, and you just say "we're trading our all-offense guy for your all-defense guy, both on basically the same contract," you're trading a 30 year old for a 24 year old. Maybe that matters a little less because of CJ's local marketability and Embiid's narrow health window, and the likelihood that CJ's skillset ages better than Simmons', but it's certainly not insignificant. We'll definitely have to throw in something else to make it happen. Ant would have a lot of appeal for them as a taller, more athletic Seth Curry, which I'd be fine with.

But it may get steeper than that. I'd think long and hard about Little. I love what I've seen from him in glimpses. But if Portland were willing to give him up as well as CJ for Simmons, it'd have to be because they see something in practice about Little that us fans don't.

Time heals many wounds, and wounds many heels. Right now both CJ and Simmons are the heels of their teams. Recovery will happen. But CJ's deepest wound may be his age, and age is a tough one for any of us to overcome.

 

Almost no one announces someone is officially on the trading block. It happens like .0000001% of the time. And they might or might not trade him right now ... they face risks regardless. If they wait to trade him they might not find any trading partner because teams would not have wanted to wait and filled their needs with other guys. Their return could diminish even further. Worse, they might be stuck with a player who is getting hammered publicly every game by his own fanbase. His own organization might be taking hits.

Being an elite defender at his size doesn't really matter on his contract if the guy can't make a shot. It's much harder to find a guy who can create his own shot against elite defense like CJ than it is to find a guy who plays elite defense. Elite offense almost always beats elite defense.

I don't know if you do or don't hate CJ. That comment was meant as a general statement for a lot of people on the board underappreciating the guy because he's the less potent offensive player in a backcourt that has a future Hall of Fame offensive player who also struggles defensively and doesn't have a defensive-stopper guard on the bench. I just seemed to have noticed several posts from you over the last few days that I think overvalue Simmons and undervalue CJ. It seems fewer and fewer national NBA followers are leaning that the Blazers need to throw in a sweetener to get Simmons and more than the Sixers need to throw in a sweetener to get CJ.

Here's another way to look at it: National media aren't going to write stories about CJ McCollum being traded. Heck, the majority of this board's been willing to give him away for years. CJ being traded wouldn't be a national story. Simmons was a former No. 1 overall pick who's not lived up to his promise, whose star is declining and whose major-market team has underperformed for years. He's trending downward to the point that a contending team is probably going to move him. If Simmons was the star that demanded the return you keep saying he's going to net, the Sixers wouldn't be trading him, because they'd be looking to add to him and Embiid. That shows the Sixers see him as a problem, not part of an answer. A few weeks to let the memory of his playoff performance isn't going to change that much ... especially in Philly as opposed to Portland, where you have 5-10 times as many fans and coverage talking about their team every day.

 

Agree. It was more hypothetical. The only thing I'd add is I think CJ still has more value to more teams than SGA at this point, but I really meant just a spitball type of offer the Sixers could get for Simmons.

 

Simmons isn't anywhere as good as McCollum LMAO someone really wrote that. I have joked around Simmons choking during playoffs BUT

• 3× NBA All-Star (2019–2021)
• All-NBA Third Team (2020)
• 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2020, 2021)

 

And you can already see Philly trying to walk it back a bit. Doc came out after the game, when his emotions were raw, and threw Simmons under the bus.

He came out the next day and said something about them having a plan to help Simmons work on his shot over the summer, which is total horse shit, but he can't come out and say "we need this dude off the team." He basically already did that.

 

I don't see any chance Philly is interested in a straight Simmons for CJ swap. It wasn't clear they even considered him for Harden who is worth way more than CJ.

Simmons is a multi time allstar, all NBA player, who is 24, and elite at defense. CJ ticks none of those boxes.

Yes he choked on foul shots these playoffs but teams think they can fix issues such as this or come up with a strategy to mitigate it, they have never traded away such a player at a discount. Would they maybe trade for Beal or another allstar? I guess its possible. But it will not be straight up for a non-allstar.

For a CJ/Simmons deal there would have to be a boatload of unprotected picks from the Blazers end (such as the Clippers/Lakers/Bucks/Nets gave up), or involve Lillard.

Many Blazers fans are delusional with players trade values.

 

LOL dude...

It's not just Blazer fans. Do you want me to link you the Sixers sub that is screaming to trade him for CJ?

 

I read Simmons is skipping the Olympics to work on "skills" this Summer. I took that as a euphemism for shooting. Maybe they are keeping him?

 

Or his head is so fucked that he doesn't want to play and he's going to sulk all summer.

 

Sixers social media is asking if they should get Dame for Maxey, Curry, Thybulle and two firsts.

 

Simmons is a multi-time all-star ... in the Eastern Conference. He's elite at defense ... which of course is a box CJ doesn't tick but CJ is miles ahead of Simmons' 14.3 ppg last season, his 61% at the line and his career-high 30% from 3.

Plus, you aren't trading for the guy's career. You're trading for him as he's currently performing and fits on your team.

I read some of these posts and you'd think Dame was the only good player on our team by people's unwillingness to admit that we have other players that have value.

Good grief, every player on another team isn't so flawless that the Blazers need to trade everything to get them.

 

Simmons is coming off of career lows in scoring, in rebounds, in assists ... all by pretty substantial margins. His steals are way down. Blocks are down. His 3-point percentage makes him not worth guarding beyond 16 feet and his FT percentage means you can't have the ball in his hands or maybe even have him in the game at all in the closing minutes.

BuT yEs We NeEd To TrAdE tHe HoUsE tO gEt HiM bEcAuSe OuR gUyS aReN't As GoOd On DeFeNsE.