The New Orleans Pelicans recently hired Stan Van Gundy as their new head coach, and hold extremely high expectations with talents like Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. After New Orleans missed the playoffs last year, could the Pelicans shake things up in a huge way by acquiring a star guard such as Portland Trail Blazers’ CJ McCollum?
Any trade sending McCollum out of Portland would be a blockbuster, and the Blazers would have to be absolutely overwhelmed by an offer.
Portland’s star backcourt of Damian Lillard and McCollum has produced many exciting moments over the years, but they’ve also commonly ran into great teams in the playoffs.
Portland may not be open to trading McCollum as of now, but if he were to become available, New Orleans could offer a unique package. It doesn’t ever hurt to make an effort to check on the availability of a talent of that kind to see if something can get done.
Let’s take a look at a hypothetical trade that would send McCollum from Portland to New Orleans, where he’d be able to team up with Zion Williamson.