This past off-season, the Portland Trail Blazers decided to not only let LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo walk in free agency, but also traded Nicolas Batum to the Charlotte Hornets. In return for all of these moves, the Trail Blazers ended up acquiring almost an entirely new team. The only notable players that returned from last season are Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who combine to make a great backcourt. For the team, though, the best option would be to trade McCollum, who is currently in the middle of a breakout season.
McCollum is a 24-year-old shooting guard from Lehigh. He combines with Lillard, a Weber St. alum, to create a small school backcourt that has been doing its best to carry a team full of role players at best. Al-Farouq Aminu is shooting less than 40% from the field and former top 10 pick, Noah Vonleh, is averaging three points and rebounds per game in nearly 15 minutes of action. They are not a team built to win. They more or less just sit in mediocrity while Lillard and McCollum do their best to make them contenders.
To start a full rebuild, they need to get draft picks, and right now McCollum would yield a very good haul. McCollum is at nearly 20 points per game as the second option in Portland's offense. Lillard is averaging 25 points per game, but McCollum has a better shooting percentage, including a better percentage on 3-point shots. McCollum has the highest scoring game between the two this season, exploding for 37 on opening night. There's no doubt that Lillard is the star and cornerstone of this franchise, but for a team that is only 6-10, a big change is necessary moving forward, and the team can afford to lose its second option.
There are plenty of teams that can afford the risk of McCollum. The player is under contract through 2017/18, but at $2 million per season, McCollum could very well fight for a bigger payout. It seems strange for the Blazers to trade a good young player with two more season under contract, but the possibility of getting another first round pick, and the option then of acquiring a top pick in this year's draft by packaging their own pick and another, should they not already be near the top, is a very enticing prospect. A player like Ben Simmons, Skal Labissiere or Brandon Ingram is going to do more for a rebuild than McCollum and could be more of a game changer than just another scoring guard.
If the Blazers want to contend in the near future, their best bet would be to trade McCollum, get another draft pick and do a full rebuild. McCollum is a great offensive player and can yield draft picks galore for a team that desperately needs them.
