Chauncey Billups is the new coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, replacing Terry Stotts up there in Oregon. A new era for the Blazers, who have been competitive but never got over the hump in the tough Western Conference.

Billups said this recently:

Well now, have I got the guy for you! I’ve got Ben Simmons, who chucks zero three pointers per game. He hasn’t taken 50 three point attempts in the entirety of his NBA career. He will assist on three pointers but not actually try any, and therefore seems to be the perfect fit for Mr. Billups roster.

But on a more serious note, I think we all know at this point that the Ben Simmons trade story kind of remains in purgatory until we get a better idea of what’s happening with Damian Lillard. He is clearly the best perimeter player the Sixers are going to get back in a trade, but nobody really knows what the Blazers want to do. Are they going to rebuild? Try to run it back with a different coach? It’s hard to say.

We do know that Simmons has been linked to the Warriors, which would open the door for a three-team trade. I mentioned this the other day in a different story, but you could work out something like this:


  • Warriors get: Ben Simmons
  • Sixers get: Damian Lillard
  • Blazers get: Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Tyrese Maxey, and a handful of first-round draft picks from the Sixers and Warriors

Would Portland do that? I think they would if they committed to the rebuild and got a suitable number of picks in return. Wiggins needs to be in the deal to make the money work. The only question beyond that is whether or not Golden State can play Draymond Green with Simmons, since they are both non-shooters with a similar style. But honest to God, if you put Draymond and Ben on the floor with Steph, Klay, and a healthy Otto Porter or whomever, then that would be a pretty damn good team. If two non-shooters are paired with two generational shooters, then maybe you pull it off.

We’re standing by for somebody to #DoTheDeal.