"Trailblazers lose their minds with Simons-Holiday trade". That is the title of an article by BlazersEdge.com's Dave Deckhard.
Deckhard doesn't seem to like the Blazers trading away Anfernee Simons for the Celtics Jrue Holiday (to put it mildly). His argument follows:
- Portland definitely did not get younger. Simons was 26. Holiday is 35.
- Portland did not save money. Simons was owed $27.7 million on his deal, the final year of an extension signed three seasons ago. Holiday will earn $32.4 million next year—more than Simons—and is owed $104 million for the life of the contract. That’s nearly four times what Simons is scheduled to make. Portland not only hard-capped themselves at the first apron of the luxury tax this year by taking back a player making more money than Simons (a theoretical issue since they weren’t going to exceed it anyway), they’ve seriously imperiled future cap flexibility by taking on Holiday’s contract.
- Portland did not get future draft capital. According to the report, they gave up a pair of second-round picks for the privilege of getting older by a decade and paying $76 million more in salary. Deckhard wasn't finished. Here is his synopsis of gaining Jrue and losing Simons:
- Less flexibility, more expense, more age, fewer draft assets, and a wash in talent (at best) isn’t balanced by gaining experience, a championship pedigree, and better defense on a team that’s unpolished and unfinished anyway. Dave Deckhard seems ready to take flak, but the final value of the trade for both teams won't be determined until the 2025-26 season is over. But right now, he wonders if the Blazers have lost their minds.
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