This mock trade sends Anfernee Simons to the Miami Heat.
There is no doubt that the Miami Heat have been circling around superstar Damian Lillard, but thus far, no trade has materialized. It is widely believed that the Heat do not have the required pieces to make an appealing trade package for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Perhaps now is the time for the Heat to pivot to trading for a different player on the Trail Blazers. Though they may not have enough assets to land a superstar like Damian Lillard, the Heat could definitely land a lower-tier guard from the Trail Blazers, as Portland has a surplus of guards. This proposed trade sends Anfernee Simons to the Miami Heat.
Miami Heat Receive: Anfernee Simons
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Kyle Lowry, Nikola Jovic, 2027 First-Round Pick (MIA)
This is a simple trade that helps the Miami Heat add talent in the backcourt, and they would certainly get better on the offensive end with his deal. Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers would be able to get a good deal for a guard player on a short-term contract. Here is why this move works out for both teams.
The Miami Heat Add A Dynamic Scoring Guard
Even though the Miami Heat believe they can win the East without a player like Damian Lillard, the Finals are an absolutely different story. They lost to the Denver Nuggets largely due to their inability to create offense consistently outside of Jimmy Butler. Though a heliocentric system around Jimmy Butler clearly is good enough to get them to the NBA Finals, they need another player who can score efficiently to really be a championship-level team.
This trade would land the Miami Heat an elite guard in Anfernee Simons, who is well-known for his scoring ability. He averaged 21.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 37.7% from 3PT range on 9.1 attempts per game. There is no doubt that he has elite shot-creation ability: Simons is a true three-level scorer, who has shown that he can thrive next to a ball-dominant player like Damian Lillard. Off-ball ability and willingness to be part of the system are big factors to success with the Miami Heat, and Simons’ s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set is definitely a great fit for the team offensively.
The obvious concern would be that by moving Kyle Lowry for Anfernee Simons, the Miami Heat would be left without a true facilitating point guard. However, the team would still have elite playmakers such as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, and not having a point guard doesn’t always mean that the ball movement on the squad will be bad. Pairing Simons and Tyler Herro at the PG and SG positions would take the team’s offense to the next level and improve spacing for Butler and Adebayo, though obviously there would be some defensive issues with the backcourt.
Overall, Anfernee Simons is a low-risk, high-reward addition to the Miami Heat. He can definitely help the team make up for the losses of players like Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in free agency, and increase the team’s overall talent level.
The Portland Trail Blazers Get A Solid Value Package From The Miami Heat
There is no doubt that the Portland Trail Blazers’ current goal is to rebuild around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. In fact, they are even willing to trade Damian Lillard to do so. If they are willing to move Lillard to achieve that goal, then it is likely that Anfernee Simons will be available for the right price. This trade package from the Heat gets them solid future assets and could be the right move to ensure that the team is a contender in the future.
Kyle Lowry’s expiring contract is used in this deal as a salary-filler element, and he is likely to be bought out by the franchise or used in another trade. If he isn’t bought out however, he can be a solid veteran mentor for the young players on the Portland Trail Blazers, even if he doesn’t end up playing huge minutes.
The two key future assets that the Portland Trail Blazers would get in this scenario are Nikola Jovic and a future first-round pick. The Trail Blazers definitely need a young prospect who can be the center of the future for the squad, as Jusuf Nurkic is clearly not a long-term solution at the position. Jovic could potentially be a solid offensive hub for them in the future, and the Trail Blazers would have the minutes to help him develop and be successful. Meanwhile, the first-round pick would be conveyed in 2027, which is likely outside of the contention window of the Miami Heat’s current iteration. That means it could land in the lottery, and if that ended up as the case, the pick would become a high-level asset.
Overall, this is a solid trade for the Portland Trail Blazers from a rebuilding perspective. Though Anfernee Simons is good right now, he clearly has no path forward on the squad, and moving him right now while he still has value is the right move for the franchise.
This Is A Win-Win Trade For The Heat And Trail Blazers
There is no doubt that this trade could potentially benefit both the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers. This makes sense for both squads from their respective goals for the season.
The Heat would get a win-now player in Anfernee Simons that would double as a future move if they sign him to an extension, which seems likely as players are generally willing to stay with the Miami Heat. They would have Simons’ Bird Rights, which means that they would be able to go over the cap to give him a lucrative deal.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers would be able to kickstart their rebuild by trading one of their many guards and ensure that they can get a top-tier return for Damian Lillard from another team.
It remains to be seen if the Heat and Trail Blazers will end up coming together on a deal with this framework. Though the Heat seems focused on Lillard, pivoting to acquire Simons could be the right course of action for the team to get better.
