Under-the-radar trade destination No. 4:
Is it absolutely crazy to suggest that the Trail Blazers trade Lillard for CJ McCollum? Absolutely. Would it make sense for both the Trail Blazers and the New Orleans Pelicans? Yup.
McCollum has been great for the Pelicans; exactly what they needed. But there’s no denying Lillard is the better player. He would undoubtedly be an upgrade over his former co-star.
Adding Lillard as the star of the show alongside Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson could take the Pelicans from a quality playoff team to a title contender. Plus, Lillard’s ability to carry a team could help them while Williamson is sidelined, too.
For Portland, keeping McCollum might not be the best idea if they are headed for a rebuild. In this case, a third team, such as the Memphis Grizzlies or Los Angeles Clippers, could probably get involved and take him off their hands.
Dyson Daniels would be a nice pick-up for the Blazers, as the 6-foot-8 young guard is oozing potential and would slot in nicely alongside Simons and Sharpe.
Adding the 14th pick in the draft would give Portland a chance to bring in a second lottery talent (in addition to the third pick), while the three future firsts would help set them up nicely moving forward.
Potential starting lineups
Trail Blazers: Scoot Henderson (?), Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Trendon Watford (?), Jusuf Nurkic
Pelicans: Damian Lillard, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas