The Portland Trail Blazers have been the talk of the league this offseason for all the wrong reasons. There has been far too much trade buzz around Damian Lillard but though the All-Star shut down the rumors that he requested a trade (at least for now). Yet, that hasn’t stopped teams from calling for another Blazers’ star in CJ McCollum.
With the NBA Draft just days away, teams have been calling Portland about McCollum and offering first-round picks in return, however, the front office is “not entertaining those offers because they are in a win-now phase,” per The Athletic. This makes perfect sense as the team wants to surround Lillard with a championship-caliber roster and parting ways with McCollum would put them two steps back instead of one step forward.
It’s worth noting that the Trail Blazers are without a draft pick in the 2021 draft which makes a potential lottery pick in a deal for McCollum enticing. McCollum has plenty of gas left in the tank despite missing 25 games last year with a broken foot. He proved to be a solid option behind Lillard after setting a new career-high with 23.1 points per game last season (sixth straight year of averaging at least 20 points per game).
Ultimately, the Trail Blazers may be rejecting current offers for McCollum but that doesn’t mean he is completely unavailable. It’s clear that the team is in a “win-now” mindset especially with Lillard giving the team a sense of urgency to turn things around or it could lead to him requesting a trade. But it’s going to take a lot more than lottery picks to pry McCollum away from Portland. The team will at least ask for an established player that could offer a new-look backcourt, especially under new head coach Chauncey Billups.
