Coach Terry Stotts has already been given the axe and the next big piece to move could be Portland Trail Blazers star guard CJ McCollum. CJ has been a Portland favorite for years with his underdog story, his knack for creating buckets out of thin air, and his hilarious fan interactions.
Damian Lillard and CJ have been interlocked for nearly a decade now, having grown and competed at a high level together for eight seasons.
Although it appears the star backcourt pairing has reached its absolute ceiling, general manager Neil Olshey and the Blazers brass will have a minefield to dance around if they mean to move on from McCollum. With how close Dame and CJ are, Olshey will have to guarantee that the trade brings them to title-contention status lest he ship off Lillard’s running mate for nothing.
The Portland Trail Blazers will have a tough task finding the perfect trade for CJ McCollum
Aside from the backcourt’s history and strong bond, there are other factors that may make it harder to find a suitable swap for CJ.
For one, CJ is not on an especially team friendly contract. According to Spotrac, McCollum will enter his new deal next season in which he’ll be paid upwards of $30 million for the next three years on a back-loaded contract.
Secondly, McCollum isn’t old but he’s probably close to his ceiling as a player, if he hasn’t hit it already. At 29 years old, he’s got plenty of time to contribute to any team, but a rebuilding team has no reason to trade for an All-Star level player who’ll turn 30 next season.
With all that in mind, the Blazers will have to find a team in playoff contention who could use CJ’s services, with a player available for trade who could raise the Blazers ceiling who matches McCollum’s contract. Obviously this will be no easy task, but it certainly isn’t impossible.
Here are the top three possible trades the Blazers could make using CJ McCollum:
The Portland Trail Blazers could land a three-team blockbuster deal this offseason
As previously mentioned, the Blazers could find it difficult to find a trade partner that matches their criteria. Many teams may be looking to land CJ but may not have the ammunition necessary. Other teams might have a piece the Blazers could use but might be looking to enter a rebuild and would have no use for McCollum.
This is the exact reason three-team trades exist.
Why the Blazers do it:
Bradley Beal. Beal is currently on an astronomical ascension, finishing the 2020-2021 season as the second-highest scorer in the league, just behind Steph Curry at a bonkers 31.3 points per game.
While CJ provides most of what Beal does, Bradley simply does everything at a higher level. Most importantly is the gap between CJ’s top-end scoring and Beal’s godlike ability to fill up the scoreboard. The Washington Wizards superstar is nearly unmatched in his ability to score the basketball, off-the-ball or off-the-dribble.
In 2019-2020, before Russell Westbrook came to town, Beal put the Wizards on his back. He finished second in scoring that year as well at 30.4 points per game with 55 percent of his baskets coming unassisted.
This season, Beal finished second in total clutch points, behind only Portland’s own Damian Lillard.
Beal also has the potential to be a much better defender than McCollum. While he hasn’t spent much time worrying about his defense, Beal has never played for a championship-caliber team. He has the athletic tools necessary to at least be an average defender at the shooting guard position, something CJ will never be able to do at his size.
While this move would be mortgaging Portland’s future, the reward is worth the risk. If the Lillard-Beal pairing is as successful as expected, those future picks won’t mean much anyways.
Why the Knicks do it:
New York has been starving for a star since Carmelo Anthony packed his bags. Kristaps Porzingis filled that role for a little bit, but the Unicorn never experienced enough success with the Knicks to fully satisfy that craving.
Now, the Knicks have began a new winning era under coach Tom Thibodeau. While Thibs led the young team to a surprisingly inspiring record, New York’s return to the postseason was short-lived. The Atlanta Hawks made quick work exposing the Knicks lack of a go-to scorer as 32 year old Derrick Rose had to pour in the majority of New York’s points.
The Knicks have been banking on their big market and name recognition for years now in hopes of landing a huge fish in free agency. That hasn’t panned out well, as they watched two superstars in their prime sign with their intercity rivals in the Brooklyn Nets.
No, New York will most likely have to continue to shed the bad aura they’ve created for themselves through the years. This season was a great start. Adding CJ’s scoring would be a massive second step.
For all of CJ’s weaknesses, he’s still an elite scorer. Last season, he shot 41.9 percent on pull-up jumpers, 36.7 on off-the-bounce triples, and scored 56.8 percent of his baskets unassisted.
McCollum absolutely has the requisite skills to be a number one option on offense. The Knicks should give him the opportunity to be one. CJ is well-worth Immanuel Quickley and Dallas’s 2021 late first round pick.
Why the Wizards do it:
The Wizards have been teeter-tottering between playoff purgatory and a rebuild for years now. Playoff purgatory is that middle section of the NBA standings where a team at best can compete for a low playoff seed, with a quick first round exit all but guaranteed, and at worst will finish with a lottery pick in the teens.
It’s time for Washington to lean full on to the rebuild. In this move, the Wizards acquire two young players, one who displayed future all-star potential in Quickley. They also nab three first round picks and two potential pick swaps. This would be a pretty good way to guarantee a quick rebuild. Even if those picks land late in the first-round, with that many chances at finding a diamond in the rough, the Wizards should have a decent shot at landing a future cornerstone.
The Portland Trail Blazers could turn CJ McCollum into two elite perimeter defenders
The most likely teams to strike a deal for CJ are teams in a similar situation with the Blazers: teams on the cusp of serious contention, but in need of a shakeup. A team that mirrors Portland’s distress in the East is the Boston Celtics.
One of the biggest needs for the Blazers has always been perimeter defense. For the Celtics, despite having young stars and a loaded roster, there just always seems to be something missing in their recipe: go-to scoring and three-level shot creation.
This trade would address needs for both of the teams involved.
Why the Blazers do it:
As mentioned, this trade would instantly turn the Blazers from a poor defense into an elite one. Portland would score two of the best perimeter defenders in the league in this deal. Jaylen Brown is a budding two-way star; his ability to shutdown opposing wings while also scoring with or without the ball would be the perfect complement to Dame.
Last season, Brown put up 24.7 points per game while slashing 48/40/76 as the second option. He also hit an elite rate of his catch-and-shoot 3-balls at 43 percent.
The Blazers also add Marcus Smart here who is way more than just a salary shoo-in. Smart is one of the best defenders in the league, bar none. His toughness and ability to aggravate the other team are things the Blazers are sorely lacking.
Smart would become the Blazers primary ball-handler off the bench, allowing him to run rampant on offense. His biggest defect has always been his poor decision making. Portland can live with the bad with him coming off the pine and providing elite defense and secondary playmaking when asked.
With this move, the Blazers starting five of Dame, Norman Powell, Brown, Robert Covington, and Jusuf Nurkic could compete with any team in the league. If extra defense is needed, Smart could come in for Powell to create a lineup with four plus defenders that could shutdown any offense.
Why the Celtics do it:
This trade really only makes sense if the Celtics also move on from Kemba Walker. The former University of Connecticut Husky was brought to Boston to get buckets and do virtually nothing else. For whatever reason, Kemba has been unable to find his scoring touch with the Celtics.
If the Celts decide to move on from Walker, they’ll be hard pressed to find a better option to fill the role they meant for Walker than CJ McCollum. Despite his weaknesses on defense and with playmaking, CJ is absolutely elite at creating his own shot. McCollum is a threat to score from all three-levels at any time off the dribble.
He can also play off the ball and allow Jayson Tatum to cook.
Since Jaylen Brown is a rising star significantly younger than McCollum and Smart is a highly coveted asset, the Blazers will need to throw in some sweeteners to make this deal happen.
The inclusion of Anfernee Simons gives the Celtics another young asset that could either grow with the team or be used as capital for any further deals that Boston may want to make.
The 2023 first round pick will likely not be very valuable with Portland’s new duo of Dame and Brown, but it’s still a nice cherry to top the deal.
It feels like the tandem of Tatum and Brown are almost too similar. Tatum is the future of the Celtics. If Boston decides to capitalize on a Jaylen Brown trade, there may not be a better deal out there.
For the Portland faithful, losing CJ and Simons would be a hard pill to swallow, but the pain would subside pretty quickly watching Dame, Brown, and the rest of the new-look Blazers tear through the league together.
The Portland Trail Blazers could add bubble-superstar Jimmy Butler
Aside from the Miami Heat culture, there may not be a better fit for Jimmy Butler than the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers perfectly account for Butler’s weaknesses, while also desperately needing all of his strengths.
There’s a good chance that this trade is completely off the table, but the Heat’s surprisingly quick exit this postseason might open the door to this possibility. After a Cinderella run to the Finals in 2020, this Heat team flamed out in four quick games in a rematch against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Many pundits have now labeled the Heat’s finals run a fluke, a product of a pandemic-ridden season and a bubble with conditions perfect for Miami’s hardnosed culture.
If President Pat Riley and the Miami Heat brass decide that it’s time to part ways with JB, Portland should jump at the chance to swing this deal.
Why the Blazers do it:
Three of the Blazer biggest deficiencies would be filled at an elite level if they add Jimmy Butler.
- Perimeter defense
- Secondary playmaking
- Slashing
JB’s prowess as a lockdown wing defender speaks for itself. He finished 10th in defensive player of the year voting this season and is a regular feature on the yearly ballots. He’s made the all-defensive team twice in his career.
He has more career steals, 1033, than fouls, 908.
He’s one of the best playmakers at his position. He averaged 7.1 assists per game this year, good for 4th among forwards behind only Draymond Green, Luka Doncic, and LeBron James. He finished 11th in the league in potential assists per game, just ahead of renowned maestro and MVP Nikola Jokic. He also makes his passes count, registering an assist for every 12.9 passes thrown.
Adding JB’s ability to create would give the Blazers another true playmaker, take stress off of Dame to create offense, and would allow Lillard to run through countless screens for open triples.
The Blazers lack of an interior shot creator was exposed in their first round series against the Denver Nuggets. Every now and then, the offense would bog down as the team continued to clank 3-balls, open or not.
Aside from Lillard and a little bit from Powell, the Blazers lack a player who can put his head down and get to the rim for either a lay-up or two free throws.
Jimmy is one of the most aggressive slashers in the league. He finished top five in drives per game at 18.5. His willingness to barrel into the paint on almost every possession led to a lot of his assists and his high free throw average at eight per game.
While Butler has proved he’s more than a sufficient number one option, what he lacks is the ability to be a true go-to scorer, specifically from the perimeter.
In Portland, Butler would be surrounded by shooters and would almost never be asked to be a deep threat. And when the Blazers absolutely need a bucket, they’ll continue to turn to Damian Lillard.
This would be a perfect fit for the Blazers and Butler.
Why the Heat do it:
As great as Butler is, he’s currently 31 years old and will turn 32 next season. The Heat made it to the Finals last year and made the playoffs again this season, but their core reflects a young team in the midst of a rebuild.
If the pundits are correct, then this Heat core has already reached its peak with not many options to improve their roster without sacrificing their future.
This trade keeps the Heat competitive in the present, while also adding to their potential.
Here, the Heat add a go-to scorer in CJ McCollum, something they’ve been sorely lacking to aid in their future playoff pushes. They also add a budding star guard in Anfernee Simons who can grow with their young core in Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, and Duncan Robinson.
They also add two first round picks with which they can add to their core or use as trade chips.
There’s a chance that the Heat could land a better deal than this one, but there’s also a decent chance that they don’t. With Butler’s reputation as a possible locker room cancer and difficult teammate, many teams may hesitate to pitch a deal for him.
Luckily, Butler’s obsessive, sometimes toxic, competitiveness would fit right in next to Damian Lillard. The Heat will find it hard to find a better deal that helps their future while keeping them in the playoff race.
A core of Dame, Powell, JB, RoCo, and Nurk is absolutely championship-caliber and the Blazers should jump at the chance to bring it to fruition.