In the NBA, there is a life cycle. Teams in the mix for the NBA title know they won’t be there forever. Eventually, they hope to win a title or more, and age out of contention gracefully. That’s the dream.

It’s not always the reality. Sometimes, the aging process takes its hold before the title comes. In that event, teams are generally well-advised to cut ties with their star veterans and start over.

Hopefully, the next time they reach this point in their life cycle, fortune will be kinder.

The Portland Trail Blazers appear to be on the wrong end of that cycle. Damian Lillard is aging. CJ McCollum is gone. Most observers expect them to retool for contention in 2022-23, but whether that’s what they ought to do is a different story.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Are Cleveland Cavaliers Among Teams We’d Love To See Trade For Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard?

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are on the opposite end of the same cycle. They’re a young team on the rise. This summer, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they seek out impact veterans to make a run for postseason success in 2022-23.

Impact veterans like, for example, Damian Lillard. Here are three trade ideas that send the longtime Blazer to the Cavaliers.