CJ McCollum

The Boston Celtics should be focusing on upgrading the roster around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Building around them would help get them back to contending quicker than trading one of them away and having to replenish the assets that were surrendered.

While a lot of fans would be hoping for Damian Lillard in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, CJ McCollum would be an excellent target for the team. For starters, the price would be significantly less for McCollum than it would be for Lillard.

Teams who have been calling Portland have been offering first-round picks for CJ McCollum, but they want players to help keep the team competitive. The Celtics could offer that with Marcus Smart as the centerpiece of a return package along with Tristan Thompson and one or two of the Celtics’ younger players to match salaries.

This would be a win for both teams. The Trail Blazers, desperate for help on the defensive side of the ball, would be getting a tenacious defender in Smart to pair with Lillard in the backcourt. Their frontcourt depth would also be bolstered by Thompson.

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The Celtics would be getting an electric third scorer in CJ McCollum, who is a multi-leveled scorer coming off a career-high 23.1 points per game. He also averaged a career-high 4.7 assists per game, which would help overcome the loss of Walker as a shot-creating, scoring guard.