Limitations:
There’s a whole slew of reasons why this deal would never go down. Here, I’ll just list some of the most obvious:
- The Heat would be given a logjam of similar players at guard, all on decently-sized salaries. With McCollum, they would also have Tyler Johnson, Goran Dragic, and Dion Waiters.
- The Celtics drafted Robert Williams this past draft, likely with the idea that he will fill into the role Collins would play.
- Although Boston has not let emotions dictate their business transactions, giving up someone like Brown after such a short stretch of poor play would be extremely shortsighted.
- The Blazers appear to really like Collins and hope he will become starting and versatile option in their front court.
- Portland has seen very little of Simons, who they may want to hold onto to see how he develops.
Like I said, there’s a non-zero percent chance that this trade happens. But that’s about as high as I would go in determining its likeliness.
But the Blazers should be thinking…
No, the Blazers will not get reloaded with Josh Richardson, Jaylen Brown, and Kelly Olynyk. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be dreaming big and thinking about future trades to raise the ceiling of this team.
Having a superstar talent like Damian Lillard means there is a door open to legitimate contention for the Blazers. Right now, Portland may only be able to see underneath the crack of that door, but it’s still there. With their current group and the fits within it, the team seems likely to repeat their same fate of the last two years.
Hate it or love it, the Blazers should be considering what they could get in return for some of their most valuable assets. At least, that’s what myself, Trenton, and Shade believe. This consideration led us down this ludicrous and unrealistic scenario, but it got us excited about what could be, rather than grinding our teeth over what’s to come in April if nothing changes.
Never stop dreaming, dreamers.