NBA Trade Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers' Anfernee Simons on the radar of rival teams

Anfernee Simons is slowly making a name for himself with the Portland Trail Blazers and NBA trade rumors suggest that other teams are taking note. The 21-year-old was picked up by the Blazers in the 2018 NBA Draft and has seen his production improve consistently as a back up point guard.

Anfernee Simons has evolved into a reliable three-point option off the bench for the Portland Trail Blazers this year and also shown shades of playmaking ability. This has caught the attention of rivals who are monitoring his situation as per The Athletic's Shams Charania. He reported:

"Rival teams are continuing to monitor the growth of Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons. The young guard is playing behind All-NBA star Damian Lillard but has shown flashes of scoring ability and playmaking in his career."

Anfernee Simons. CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/ZRlOtxrl0z

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 3, 2019

Simons is in the third year of his rookie contract and is tied to the Portland Trail Blazers till 2022 at the very least.

NBA Trade Rumors: Could Anfernee Simons be on his way out of Portland Trail Blazers?

Simons is set to be behind Lillard and McCollum in the pecking order

Anfernee Simons is a bright prospect but there's a good chance he won't get the required chances to reach his full potential in Portland. He's seeing more of the ball during CJ McCollum's current injury layoff but his minutes have reduced as compared to last season. Simons has still done well lately, averaging 11.8 points per game on 41.2% three-point shooting since the beginning of February.

The Portland Trail Blazers have a decision to make here. Anfernee Simons is certainly good but he's of little value defensively and is unlikely to feature much in the postseason rotation. However, he has a good trade value because of his age and potentially high ceiling.

Anfernee Simons has serious bounce😳pic.twitter.com/Ygrum60YUc

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 6, 2020

The Portland Trail Blazers can leverage Anfernee Simons as the bargaining chip in trade talks for veteran players ahead of the trade deadline. They would want to do better than last year's first round exit in the playoffs and acquiring seasoned role players could help a lot in doing that.

---