Portland Trail Blazers: 3 three-team trades for CJ McCollum
By Andy Quach
This three-team trade could create three championship contenders
Why this trade works for the Portland Trail Blazers:
With this move, the Portland Trail Blazers add an elite defender and playmaker in Draymond Green. Green instantly becomes the best defender on the Blazers roster and would transform Portland’s defense over night.
A team with Robert Covington as their best defender can be good. A team with RoCo as their second-best stopper and Jusuf Nurkic as their third is top-tier.
This move would make Damian Lillard the only defensive liability in the starting lineup and with the versatility of Powell, RoCo, and Green, he shouldn’t ever be tasked with guarding a true threat.
Green would also add plenty of playmaking, which Portland also desperately needs. He’s got plenty of experience passing to a point guard with “in-the-gym” range and should be expected to raise Lillard’s scoring totals and efficiency.
The other two Warriors headed to Portland are purely salary matching inclusions, but that 14th overall pick could be a great asset on top of landing Green.
Why this trade works for the Golden State Warriors:
The Golden State Warriors here land an asset that will help them contend next season and craft a plan for their future.
After James Wiseman proved to be a few years away from being a real contributor, the Warriors will probably shy away from trusting their draft picks to help them return to title contention.
Instead, in this deal they land a Draymond Green-lite in Ben Simmons except younger and more athletic. Simmons is a non-shooter as everybody knows, but the Warriors have plenty of snipers on their roster to make up for his offensive deficiencies.
Simmons should be able to seamlessly fill Green’s role as a multifaceted defender and offensive hub to find Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for open triples.
Why this trade works for the Philadelphia 76ers:
The Philadelphia 76ers learned a harsh lesson this postseason in their second-round loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Despite their loaded roster and defensive efficiency, the Sixers just lacked the offensive creation and perimeter scoring necessary to drag them through close finishes.
CJ McCollum is a perfect fit in that sense. All of his strengths perfectly account for Philly’s weaknesses and all of his weaknesses are negated by the rest of the Sixers roster.
Not only do they add an elite perimeter scorer in this move, they also add a top-10 draft pick and an additional future first. A bonus here is that they get to keep Matisse Thybulle, whom they’ve grown quite fond of in the City of Brotherly Love.