Rather than trade unsatisfied superstar Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers are looking to upgrade their roster. One possible route for doing that would be to trade guard C.J. McCollum.

According to The Athletic's Jason Quick, Portland general manager Neil Olshey has already turned down a handful of offers for McCollum. The 29-year old — heading into the first of a three-year, $100 million deal — averaged a career-high 23.1 points in 47 games in 2020-21, his eighth season playing alongside Lillard.

Because the Blazers' do not own a first-round pick in next week's 2021 NBA Draft (they traded it to the Houston Rockets for Robert Covington), Olshey has heard from numerous teams offering their draft picks for McCollum. Portland (a.k.a Lillard) is not interested.

“Teams are calling the Blazers and asking for CJ McCollum and, in return, offering Portland a chance to get into the top part of the draft,” writes Quick. “But Portland is not entertaining those offers because it is in a win-now phase and looking for veterans more than rookies to build around.”

Based on his track record, Olshey may prefer to make a splashy trade midseason and run it back with McCollum. However, he could re-think that approach should he be offered significant talent for C.J. At the moment, that hasn't happened.

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Regardless, the Blazers know they need to upgrade their Robin to truly contend, as good as McCollum is.

“The aim for Portland is to elevate its No. 2 player,” adds Quick. “… The Blazers feel like with Lillard, it’s a fair fight against nearly every other top player in the league. But while McCollum is a talented player, they have realized there’s a steep drop when pitting him against other team’s second-best players, such as Anthony Davis, Paul George, Klay Thompson and … Khris Middleton.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons is a logical candidate for a McCollum swap, considering their matching salaries and Olshey's relationship with Daryl Morey. That hasn't appealed to the Sixers, yet, per The Athletic.

Lillard has not formally requested a trade, though he's repeatedly put the pressure on Olshey to improve the team this summer.