[Fentress] "I’ve been told by some within the Blazers organization that they are not sure how well Simmons and Lillard would fit together. Simmons wants to play the Magic Johnson role, which requires having the ball in his hands. Well, that’s Lillard’s job."

Source (paywall)

Aaron Fentress is a Trailblazers reporter for The Oregonian and OregonLive.com. Gina Mizell is a (recently new) Sixers beat writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Fentress: Should the Blazers struggle and things aren’t working out, I could see a scenario where Lillard backs the Blazers into a corner and wants out before the trade deadline. However, I’m more inclined to believe that any potential Lillard deal wouldn’t take place until next summer should Portland fail once again to make a major deal to acquire another star...However, one major problem here is that Simmons has reportedly said he does not want to play in Portland. That would be a huge turn off for the Blazers. The last thing they’d want to do is trade Lillard for a potential headache.

Mizell: OK, let’s close the Lillard door and open the McCollum one, since that seems far more realistic heading into training camp and the season. McCollum’s name has swirled in trade rumors for years. Would a swap for Simmons be an ideal scenario for the Blazers to break up their longtime backcourt?

Fentress: Yes! I wrote 2,000 words on why I would trade McCollum for Simmons in a heartbeat. I love the fit for both teams. However, I’ve been told by some within the Blazers organization that they are not sure how well Simmons and Lillard would fit together. Simmons wants to play the Magic Johnson role, which requires having the ball in his hands. Well, that’s Lillard’s job. I could see Lillard playing off the ball more often but in the end, it’s his team and he will want the ball the majority of the time. That would force Simmons to play a role he isn’t used to.

It sounds like there are some within the Blazers org who are worried they would have a lot of trouble to replicate what Steph Curry & Draymond Green do for the Warriors with Damian Lillard & Ben Simmons.