With Damian Lillard sidelined and CJ McCollum traded, Anfernee Simons is ready to shine.
On the Tuesday before the NBA’s trade deadline, Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons was asleep in his Portland home when his girlfriend, Breonna Hudson, woke him up and delivered news poised to alter his career. “It happened,” she told Simons abruptly. CJ McCollum, who had played his first nine NBA seasons in Portland and had mentored Simons for the past four, was traded to the Pelicans in one of the biggest midseason moves of the year.
McCollum had been transparent with his teammates about the prospect of a possible deal.