NBA Draft Rumors: Blazers new trade package, Top 5 trade down party, Mavs target

NBA Draft Rumors: Blazers need sidekick for Damian Lillard

Speaking of Portland, the Trail Blazers are trying to build a trade package to surround Damian Lillard with talent. According to the Ringer’s Kevin O’ Connor, the Trail Blazers are open to trading Anfernee Simons and the third-overall pick for All-Star help. The players that they are looking at include Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, and Mikal Bridges.

Out of these three options, Mikal Bridges is probably the most unlikely. The Nets do not have control of their picks for the next couple of years. Due to that reason, they have decided to not rebuild and rather retool after the end of the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era.

One could assume that an offer of Portland’s tradable first-round picks, Simons and the third-overall pick would at the very least make the Nets consider it. Still, the idea that Bridges is a suitable running mate probably doesn’t make sense due to what we saw in the first round against the Sixers.

Brown would require the Celtics to not want them to extend the All-NBA player, which they may end up doing in the end. Still, that situation is based on outside factors that Portland can not control.

The Raptors would make a lot of sense if they hadn’t traded their first round pick next season to the Spurs. Still, a deal where they get Simons might allow them to avoid a full retool when trading Siakam.