Could Portland Trail Blazers star guard CJ McCollum actually end up on the Los Angeles Clippers if the two franchises agreed to a deal in a trade?
Now that the NBA Finals are over, it’s officially free agency and trade season. This is one of the most anticipated events every single year. Contenders try to load up, rebuilding teams find a way to gain assets while other teams try to climb the contending tier of teams in the league. The rumors have already started and the Portland Trail Blazers are not spared from it.
From an outside looking in, the Blazers seem like a mess. The status of Damian Lillard has been the talk of the town over the past couple of weeks—even if Dame has made it clear he plans to stay in Portland. While everyone has their eyes on Dame (and rightfully so), it’s also important to take notice of CJ McCollum’s status with the Blazers as well.
The Blazers have to do everything they can to keep Dame. And that means building a team where he actually gets enough help to make it deep in the playoffs. The pairing of Lillard and McCollum hasn’t had success over the past couple of years so the Blazers might just find a way to get another asset in exchange for McCollum.
Based on the Los Angeles Clippers’s roster, their active All-Star is only Paul Goerge—who I don’t think they will trade, especially with the playoff run he just had. The most they can offer for a potential McCollum trade would likely be their role players like Marcus Morris, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, Rajon Rondo, Ivica Zubac and Patrick Beverely.
So the question for the Blazers is that are they willing to trade McCollum, a proven guard for role players? This seems a little bleak but if they’re gunning to surround Lillard with proven role players a then this is the best route for them to go.
Here’s the best trade offer the Clippers can get McCollum for:
Blazers receive: Marcus Morris, Luke Kennard and Clippers' 2021 first draft pick
Clippers receive: CJ McCollum
The Blazers could use Kennard's three point shooting and his ability to space the floor. They also get a rugged stretch four with Morris, who can also play small by 5—the asset they've lacked for the past few years. These two players proved to be significant for the Clippers in the playoffs. They’re going to lose scoring and play making with McCollum but acquiring role players who can fit next to Lillard in return would be huge for the Blazers as well, especially if they build their team the right way.
The bottomline is that the Clippers can only give up their role players if they want to make an offer for CJ. It's possible for a third team to join the party too. Kawhi’s injury is definitely heartbreaking but the Clippers now have to adjust their roster and find a way to build around George in order to still compete in the competitive Western Conference. It may seem far fetched but McCollum can be that sidekick if LA will build around George this season.