NBA Rumors: Ben Simmons & Seth Curry To Trail Blazers For Package Centered On CJ McCollum In Proposed Deal

To improve their roster around Lillard, the Trail Blazers may need to break their explosive backcourt and find a deal centered on veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum before the 2022 NBA trade deadline. In a recent article, Joe Capraro of Fansided's Rip City Project created a list of trades that the Trail Blazers need to do to keep Lillard in Portland.

These include the hypothetical blockbuster deal that would send McCollum to the Philadelphia 76ers. In the proposed trade scenario, the Trail Blazers would be sending a package that includes McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington, and a 2022 first-round pick to the Sixers in exchange for Simmons, Seth Curry, and a 2022 second-round pick.

It wasn't the first time that the Sixers and the Trail Blazers have been involved in a trade scenario featuring Simmons and McCollum. Earlier in October, Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed on Twitter that the Sixers and the Trail Blazers have engaged in a trade discussion involving the two stars.

However, during that time, the Sixers' asking price for Simmons was too high. Aside from McCollum, they were also demanding the inclusion of three future first-round picks and three first-round pick swaps in the trade package which made the Trail Blazers immediately back out of the negotiation.

Simmons would be an intriguing acquisition for the Trail Blazers. Pairing him with Lillard would enable them to create their own version of the Golden State Warriors duo of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Simmons' arrival in Portland would also help the Trail Blazers improve their defensive efficiency that currently ranks No. 29 in the league, allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions, per ESPN.

Aside from Simmons, the Trail Blazers would also be receiving an immediate replacement for McCollum in Seth Curry. Curry isn't expected to have a hard time building chemistry with Lillard since they previously played together in Portland during the 2018-19 NBA season.

The proposed blockbuster deal with the Trail Blazers should be a no-brainer for the Sixers. It would allow them to fulfill their dream of trading Simmons for another All-Star caliber player who would complement Joel Embiid on the court. McCollum would give the Sixers a very reliable second-scoring option and an elite three-point shooter.

This season, McCollum is averaging 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.0 steal while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN. In addition to McCollum, the Sixers would also get two solid veteran role players in Nurkic and Covington.

However, while they could use Covington as their sixth man, the Sixers may no longer see the need to keep Nurkic since they already have Andre Drummond backing up Embiid.