NBA Rumors: Trail Blazers Guard Wants To Stay Put

According to SI's Ben Pickman, Anfernee Simons wants to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers and plans to re-sign with them during the offseason.

Although it hasn't been the best of seasons for the Trail Blazers, Simons has been an excellent surprise for them. In 54 games, he is averaging 17.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. With these numbers, he is having a career year and emerging into a legitimate starter at the NBA level. Now with the team making multiple changes to their roster, he is also one of their most important players, too. 

It will be intriguing to see what kind of extension Simons receives from here. After three years of being a depth player for Portland, he has been thriving and certainly warrants a raise because of it. He currently is set to have a $5,758,551 qualifying offer, but it will change to $7,921,300 if he meets the starter criteria before this campaign is completed. However, there's also the possibility that they opt to go long-term on his next contract, too. 

In 208 career games with the Trail Blazers, Simons has averaged 10.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. If he has it his way, he will have the chance to build on these numbers next season. 

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