December 23, 2024

Blazers Trade Idea Brings Magic Rookie Anthony Black to Portland

Orlando Magic v Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers could bring the No. 6 overall pick of this year’s draft to the pacific northwest.

The Portland Trail Blazers face a confusing offseason as the future of the team remains uncertain.

Moves are coming, but it remains to be seen what the team will actually try and cook up.

Bleacher Report suggests a trade idea that would send Anfernee Simons to the Orlando Magic for No. 6 overall pick Anthony Black and a 2025 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets.

It’s not that Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe can’t be part of a workable long-term backcourt rotation. All three, including Simons, the old head in the group at 24, are young enough to grow their games. At the moment, though, it feels like the Blazers need another type of guard to balance things out.

Black is a big, rangy guard who flashed defense, energy and quick connective passing during his rookie season. The Magic have those qualities elsewhere on the roster, but they lack Simons’ quick-trigger shooting off the dribble.

With this move, the Blazers would be instilling more trust in Scoot Henderson as the lead guard, while bringing Black in to be the team’s top defender in the backcourt. Given Black’s 6-7 frame, he can defend 1-4 and still play with Henderson and Sharpe in certain lineups.

Black isn’t in the Magic’s playoff rotation, but he did start 33 games for Orlando this season, proving to be someone the team can count on — especially on the defensive end.

That being said, Black and a first-round pick seems incredibly low as the return package for Simons, who averaged a career-high 22.6 points per game this season and is only 24 years old. Simons was easily the Blazers’ best player this season, so the team is going to have to be blown away by an offer to consider trading him. This deal simply isn’t that.

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