One of the most popular names mentioned in a potential Ben Simmons trade is Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum.
Well, McCollum discussed the rumors and his thought on Simmons and his future on the latest episode of his podcast, Pull Up with CJ McCollum.
"I only mention this [Simmons situation] because it's part of the NBA and that also means that I'm going to be involved in the trades for Ben Simmons," McCollum said on his podcast, which was published on Thursday. "So, people are always going to start those types of rumors, and things of that nature, and kind of compare and contrast because the salaries are alike. We go through a tough season in which we lose, they go through a tough season in which they lose. So the fans, experts, media, journalists begin to question and wonder whether or not a trade will happen for him to come to either Portland, or go to Indiana, or go to any other teams with assets, picks, and players. I had to discuss it. I think going forward the Sixers are going to look to make some changes potentially, and it may or may not include Ben Simmons, but the fact of the matter that he's 24 with a bright future. He just needs to tighten up his jump shot and I'm sure he'll work on that."
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Portland is the favorite to be Simmons' next team if traded, according to BetOnline.ag. And McCollum is correct about the salaries. The 29-year-old Portland guard is under contract for the next three seasons, with respective cap hits of $30.8 million, $33.3 million, and $35.8 million.
Simmons, who will be 25 this summer, is under contract for four more seasons, with respective cap hits of $33 million, $35.5 million, $37.9 million, and $40.3 million.
McCollum, a 6'3" guard, played four seasons of college basketball at Lehigh University and was the 10th overall pick of the Blazers in 2013. For his career, McCollum is averaging 18.9 points with 45.5 FG% / 39.8 3P% / 82.6 FT% career shooting splits.
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"It's been a rough, rough week for Sixers fans," McCollum said at the beginning of his 76ers segment on the podcast, recapping was has gone on in Philadelphia. "A couple blown leads, up 18 in one game, up 26 in another. End up losing to the Atlanta Hawks at home, in another highly, highly contested Game 7 in which there's some controversy because Ben Simmons turns down a couple of shots. He ended up finishing with 13 assists, eight rebounds.
"People began to kind of question whether or not he's going to be in Philly long-term. Now, Ben Simmons is an extremely talented player. He's athletic, he has a high basketball IQ. Defensively, he's one of the best defenders in the NBA. He can guard guards, wings, centers. He can initiate the break. He's a special, special talent, but the confidence is just not there right now from a shooting stand point and I think that's the next step for him, obviously. He pulled out of the Australian Olympics for the Australian national team and said that he would work on skill development, and kind of figure out how to re-shape some of those things in the summer."