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With two contenders said to be seeking a massive backcourt upgrade, it is believed that both Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets had interest in Portland Trail Blazers’ speedy guard, Anfernee Simons, according to the league insider Sam Amico. Immediately, forum discussions sparked among basketball fans of fit, roster composition, and what could either contender really trade away for the scoring guard.
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From the Simons’ perspective, NBACentral pitched a story with a picture of Simons driving knee-deep into the basket against much more defensive pressure, an image showing just how explosive he is as he has become coveted. At 24, Simons last season put up the numbers of 22.6 points and 5.5 assists per game for the Blazers, cementing his name as one of the bright scoring talents of the league.
The response to the trade rumors was almost instantaneous but diverse, further highlighting the layers complicating any trade. “Nuggets would have to clear almost their entire bench just to match the salary.. so this gotta be old news lmao,” said one user, pointing out a huge financial barrier in acquisition by the current champions. The comment basically summed up the tricky math Denver would face absorbing Simons’ contract that has three years and about $81 million left.
Directing the trade toward Philadelphia elicited even more biting comments on their roster needs. One particularly great fan questioned outright: “Idk why the sixers looking at a guard you got 3 guards on your roster right now 25&under that can all drop 30+ on any given night & are decent defensively, need to be tryna upgrade the front court positions instead.” That comment touched on the northeast debate regarding Philadelphia’s roster build around MVP Joel Embiid, insinuating that a perimeter scorer might not be their top priority.
Yet another humorous sting aimed at the 76ers President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, who’s earned his sale for being perpetually on the phone: “At this point Daryl Morey just be calling everybody.” Quite fittingly describes the aggressive and inquisitive style of team-building brought about by Morey.
On Denver’s part, excitement was created around how Simons’ scoring prowess would plug into a core featuring Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. An optimist summarized, “Simons would go hard on the nuggets,” picturing the array of scoring forces he would bring. But a dose of reality came from another skeptic who said, “This is cap. Nuggets can’t get him unless they trade one of AG/Jamal/Cam, 0% chance they trade one of them for Simons.” This is really the central issue for Denver; their best trade bait are core rotation players they can barely afford to lose.
The speculation about trade possibilities goes into-theory with one branch of replies discussing a possible framework involving Philadelphia’s young guard Quentin Grimes and veteran center Andre Drummond heading to Portland. A participant in that chain harshly assessed, “Drummond makes it even doesn’t tip the scale,” insinuating that even with Drummond in, the deal would still be light for somebody of Simons’ caliber.
Amidst all the theory mongering, someone offered a dose of sanity about the origin of the rumor: “Sam is usually pretty good but I don’t believe this for either team lol.” Such views echo the common healthy skepticism most trade rumors are met with in the off-season, there is always talk, but the rare case comes when actual deals are seen there.
The 76ers and Nuggets are among the teams that have expressed interest in a possible trade for Anfernee Simons, per @AmicoHoops pic.twitter.com/ehh2kRUoXV
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 24, 2025
Anfernee Simons, 24th overall pick by Portland in 2018, has spent all six of his professional seasons with the Trail Blazers. His growth got kicked into overdrive once the trade of franchise icon Damian Lillard happened, and he started to shoulder some heavy scoring load. His offensive skills certainly stand out; however, the question of fitting onto a win-now scheme for Philadelphia or Denver would come down to whether he could learn to be a secondary or tertiary option-less truly something he’s had to do very little of in his professional career.
The Trail Blazers are justly interested in hearing offers for Simons, as the team is really down in another dimension of the rebuilding frame alongside Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. Acquiring youngsters plus future draft capital fits into their long-term outlook, so such an offer is not off the table.
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Some interest from a couple of big guns speaks volumes of Simons’ secure power seat across the league. However, the brick wall of Denver’s salary constraints, combined with Philadelphia’s logjam at the position, could appear to be insurmountable and standing staggeringly high. Going by the progression of the offseason, this rumour will soon become a fascinating case study into the subtle art of NBA trading where desire faces being confronted by crippling salary-cap and roster constraints. Will an actual offer come to fruition? That is one of many interesting questions being posed this summer.