The Portland Trail Blazers already landed one-half of their former star backcourt duo with Damian Lillard's surprising return. Could CJ McCollum come back to complete the puzzle?
McCollum, almost 34, landed with the rebuilding Washington Wizards this summer. He's on an expiring $30.6 million deal, and it seems inevitable he will be elsewhere by next offseason, with the Wizards' timeline not aligning with his closing window. Suddenly, the Blazers have transformed into a team that would be a much better fit for McCollum.
CJ McCollum's return could complete Blazers' backcourt puzzle
Portland made its win-now aspirations clear with the additions of aging star guards Lillard and Jrue Holiday this summer. Why not add another into the mix?
McCollum may be declining, but he still has some left in the tank, averaging 21.1 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds on 44/37/72 shooting splits. The Blazers desperately need more offense, and it could make sense to add the Lehigh product to help address those playmaking and shooting concerns.
The Blazers' roster has flipped from the past year -- their building blocks lie in the frontcourt with Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Clingan. The bigger question marks are in the backcourt.
We still don't quite know what they have in Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, who have shown flashes but haven't been able to take that next leap to put it all together. A 35-year-old Holiday is still impactful, but also declining, averaging 11.1 points and 3.9 assists last season in Boston. Portland also can't rely on Lillard's return to be the solution to its backcourt problems. History doesn't bode well for players returning to form after suffering such a brutal Achilles tear, particularly this late in their careers. When breaking down the concerns for each individual backcourt player, adding McCollum to a seemingly crowded backcourt doesn't seem as crazy.
Anfernee Simons' departure and Lillard's gap year give Henderson and Sharpe prime opportunities for a breakout season and also allow Portland to evaluate them in increased roles. If they determine they aren't confident in one or both of these pieces being capable of taking over the keys to the backcourt for a playoff-caliber team, Portland could decide to pull the trigger on a trade for McCollum by February's deadline.
Blazers general manager Joe Cronin is eager to return to the postseason, especially with new owner Tom Dundon set to take over. McCollum may not be the player he once was in his first stint with Portland, but he would still help achieve that goal.
The Lillard-McCollum duo didn't achieve as much playoff success as the Blazers would've hoped, but with a new defensive identity built around their versatile wings, things would be different this time around.