Why This Trade Would Benefit The Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard signed a four-year, $196 million contract extension last offseason. This keeps him under contract until after the 2024-25 season. It is unknown if the Portland Trail Blazers will hold onto Lillard for that long. The duo of Lillard and McCollum took Portland to the playoffs as the eighth seed a year ago and is currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

They have had chances to win. Sometimes a team benefits from heading in a new direction when their current setup has not worked in recent years. McCollum has shown that he has what it takes to be the first option offensively. In this deal, he would get another partner in Simmons.

Portland would get another NBA All-Star caliber point guard to work with. Also, Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle are rotation players that would be ready to step in and play right away, not to mention a ton of draft capital. All of this would be warranted for a player like Lillard.

This would not be a rebuild for the Trail Blazers but a reboot of the roster. If they went the rest of the season with Ben Simmons and CJ McCollum leading the way, they would still be a playoff team in the Western Conference. It is time for Portland to make a decision regarding one of their stars.