Anfernee Simons, Blazers Agree to 4-Year, $100M Contract Extension at Start of FA

Anfernee Simons is running it back with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The restricted free-agent guard signed a four-year, $100 million deal to remain in Portland, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who spoke to Simons' agent, Bill Duffy.

While the Blazers have rebuilt their roster around Damian Lillard over the past year, Simons is one of the lone remaining complementary pieces.

Last season, the Blazers dealt CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada a 2022 first-round pick and two second-rounders.

They weren't done there, trading Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick.

The Blazers then used the cap space they created this summer to land Jerami Grant in a trade with the Detroit Pistons.

So prior to the Simons news, the Blazers were set to have a solid core of Lillard, Grant, Hart, rookie Shaedon Sharpe, Justise Winslow and Nassir Little, among others. But a huge part of the retooling plan was re-signing Simons.

The 23-year-old had a breakout season last year, averaging 17.3 points and 3.9 assists in 29.5 minutes per game (57 total contests), shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three.

The Blazers will be expecting another step forward in the 2022-23 campaign and beyond considering contract they just gave him. If he continues to grow, they will be a real threat to return to the postseason.