The Portland Trail Blazers got up today and decided they did not want to be mediocre anymore for the sake of their star, Damian Lillard. They traded CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans. This gave the Pelicans that were rebounding from their awful start, another big push from play-in to playoff contention.
The trade saw CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., and Tony Snell go to New Orleans. Whilst the Blazers got back Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, a 2022 protected first-round pick and, two second-round picks.
Portland's plan is to fully reshape roster around Damian Lillard now. Portland created a $21M trade exception today, potentially $60M in salary cap space this summer, multiple draft picks and assets via Pels and Clippers trades. Plan is to pursue high-end talent now, not retreat.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022
Purely based on talent, the Trail Blazers got robbed. The trade was so bad for the Blazers that fans were not sure if they were trying to contend, rebuild, or tank. There was even a slight rumor of Damian Lillard now being available for trade. However, Portland pulled the trigger on this trade to make up $60 million in cap space for the upcoming offseason.
The Blazers want to build around Dame with ‘high-end’ talent. Capitalizing on the prime of the best player in their franchise history is their number one priority. That means, ‘Damian Lillard is NOT for sale.’
Here’s why Portland had to separate Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum
It was extremely clear that the team with the 29th best defense efficiency rating in the league would have no chance of winning anything together. Major blame surely should fall on the Blazers prioritizing on keeping a small backcourt of Dame and CJ. That makes them more often than not, defensive liabilities.
The Trail Blazers want to maximize their assets and a high overall pick in the upcoming draft is always valuable. CJ would only hinder that process so by trading him away they increase their odds. Also due to COVID 19 protocols, all the players traded for cannot play instantly. That means there are 9 players currently on the Trail Blazers roster that deserve genuine rotation minutes cannot play for the next few games. More free losses for the Blazers.
Portland is ready to start slipping down the Western Conference standings for the sake of a bigger goal for next season. Will this pay dividend or is this more time of Dame’s prime being wasted?