CJ McCollum – Portland Trail Blazers
For years now, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have been one of the best backcourts in the entire league, but the Portland Trail Blazers have not seemed to be able to finally break through in the Western Conference. They have made the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons now, making the Western Conference Finals just once in 2019.
After playing the role of “Robin” to Damian Lillard’s “Batman,” CJ McCollum has had a fantastic start to the 2020-21 NBA campaign and seems to be sending a message to everyone that he is his own player. McCollum and Lillard are great together and have a great relationship with one another, but CJ has not received the credit he has earned over the years.
CJ McCollum has never been an All-Star and the only accolade he has to show for his career is the 2015-16 Most Improved Player award. So far this season, McCollum is leading the Blazers in scoring with 27.7 points per game and is shooting 45.8% from the floor and 43% from three-point range. Portland has no plans of trading him at the moment, but the idea has definitely floated around through this past offseason.
Portland was rumored to be interested in James Harden and if any trade involving Harden was to happen for the Blazers, CJ McCollum would end up being the odd-man-out. These were just rumors, but at the end of the day, it makes you wonder about what kind of player McCollum could be outside of Portland and without Lillard by his side.
In the event that CJ McCollum was to be traded, it would absolutely shake things up in the NBA because who knows what a trade for him would look like! He is not an All-Star but has the value on the trade market of one, and he is also 29-years old in the prime of his career.
Trading away CJ McCollum could be good for Portland, but it could also be detrimental to their success, as they have built around him and Lillard for years now. It all depends on who they would be trading McCollum to and what they would be getting in return, but CJ McCollum’s future with the Portland Trail Blazers is definitely a storyline to follow this season and throughout next offseason.
