Could Magic target Trail Blazers guard in trade?

Could Anfernee Simons solve the Magic’s offensive issues? According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Trail Blazers guard has been increasingly projected around the league as a potential target for Orlando.

President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman indicated in a postseason press conference that upgrades this offseason would likely come via trades.

“Most of our roster upgrades are going to have to come more through swapping than just adding,” Weltman said. “The reason we’ve been a good team the last couple of years — and I do believe we are a good team — is because we’ve got an elite defensive backbone. And as as we look to improve our offense, we have to be very cognizant of not unraveling the DNA of our team. That’s what we have to balance this summer.”

Orlando had the league’s worst three-point percentage, and Weltman vowed to address that problem, as well as others.

“What we need is proven shot-making, proven offensive play, someone that’s going to come in and help augment our weakness,” Weltman said. “Clearly, we need to get better offensively. Clearly, we need to shoot the ball better. Those are the goals and that’s the lens we need to look at as we enter the offseason. I don’t think anything’s off the table. Veteran help, proven offensive help is what we’re going to be looking for.”

Simons made 70 starts for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 19.3 points and 4.8 assists. He shot 42.6% overall and 36.3% from beyond the 3-point arc. Simons is entering his walk year and will make $27,678,571 next season.

Simons was believed to be one of the players the Blazers were willing to move prior to this season’s trade deadline. However, GM Joe Cronin didn’t find a suitable offer.

Orlando seemingly made a major upgrade last offseason by signing free agent guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The former Nuggets guard had a disappointing season with the Magic, averaging 8.7 points in 29.6 minutes per game while making 77 starts. His three-point percentage was a subpar 34.2%, his worst since the 2015-16 season. KCP made over 40% of his long-range attempts in his previous two seasons with Denver.

Losing Jalen Suggs after he played just 35 games was a major blow. Suggs averaged 16.2 points per game before he underwent season-ending surgery, but Weltman’s comments indicated that Suggs’ return alone won’t put Orlando over the hump.