Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Portland Trail Blazers
So far, in a season where the Portland Trail Blazers are expected to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference, Portland has gotten off to a 5-4 start. CJ McCollum has been fantastic, as he is averaging more than 27 points per game, but overall, the Blazers as a whole have a problem with their ball distribution.
They currently rank in the bottom five of the NBA in assists per game and come playoff time, this could be something that winds up hurting Portland’s chances of being a true championship contender. Being able to move the ball on offense and find open shooters is extremely important, especially for a team as talented as Portland.
Swapping McCollum for Russ opens up their offense a little more in terms of ball movement, as Westbrook is one of the better passers in the NBA, and it allows Damian Lillard to be more aggressive and dominant on the court.
In the NBA Bubble at the end of last season, Damian Lillard was virtually unstoppable because of the fact that they were missing so many players due to injuries and McCollum was not 100%. Dame averaged 37.6 points per game, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and shooting just about 44% from the floor and 40.7% from three-point range in Portland’s eight seeding games in Orlando and with Westbrook, he could put up similar or even better numbers!
Overall, Portland would likely laugh at any trade involving McCollum at this point, as they are heavy favorites to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference entering the playoffs, but this trade definitely has to be intriguing to them because of the draft assets they can acquire from Washington.
These two picks are extremely valuable because Portland does not have much NBA Draft capital over the next few years and do not have a lot of young talent on their roster. Carmelo, Lillard, McCollum and Covington are all 30+ years old and their best younger player is Gary Trent Jr.
Building a young core through the draft to pair with Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook as they enter the back halves of their careers could be very interesting for Portland and set them up for future success.
