If this NBA offseason told us anything, it is that the Portland Trail Blazers could be in big trouble moving forward. Not only was there a lot of controversy in their hiring process of Chauncey Billups to be their next head coach, but Damian Lillard seems to be frustrated with this organization’s lack of winning.
Lillard being unhappy is very bad news because if he requests a trade, Portland will become a “bottom-feeder” in this league.
For almost a decade now, the Trail Blazers have been a constant playoff team, but that’s about all they have been. Portland has reached the Western Conference Finals just once in their last eight playoff appearances over the last eight seasons, but they got swept in this WCF series by the Golden State Warriors, a team that the Blazers stood no chance at beating.
Now, entering the 2021-22 season, Portland should have CJ McCollum and Jusef Nurkic fully healthy, which definitely helps, but this team’s supporting cast is still weak. Larry Nance Jr. is a solid addition, but Ben McLemore, Tony Snell, and Cody Zeller are very average additions for this team.
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Losing Carmelo Anthony will definitely hurt in terms of scoring depth and while Norman Powell has played well over the years, can he really be a secondary contributor on a contending team?
With all the question marks surrounding the Trail Blazers, it is not hard to imagine that they will do everything they can to assure Damian Lillard that they can be a championship contender. However, this may require them to part ways with CJ McCollum, who has been with the team, and Lillard since he was drafted 10th overall by Portland in 2013.
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The Portland Trail Blazers need to find ways to better themselves defensively and they also need to add more weapons to their team on offense, so it is not crazy to think that they would leverage CJ McCollum to do so.
With this said, let’s take a look at a three-team deal that would send McCollum to the Indiana Pacers and in return, net them two key talents to pair with Damian Lillard moving forward.
