The Portland Trail Blazers were quieter this NBA offseason than many people thought that they would be. The day after being eliminated from the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets, Terry Stotts was relieved of his duties as head coach.
Chauncey Billups was tabbed as the new head coach, but many believed he would be inheriting a much different-looking roster come the regular season. Portland’s biggest move thus far was taking part in a three-team deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls that landed Larry Nance Jr. with the Trail Blazers.
While Nance will help the team’s frontcourt, that isn’t the high-profile deal many presumed the Trail Blazers would make. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were involved in NBA trade rumors all season, as a big shake-up sounded like it was on the horizon.
Damian Lillard was adamant that he wasn’t requesting a trade, but McCollum could deliver Portland a return package they need to get over the hump in the postseason.
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McCollum averaged a career-high 23.1 points per game this past season, adding 4.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds. The assists were also a career-high, as McCollum also topped 40 percent on his 3-point attempts for the third time in his career.
There are plenty of teams that could use a pure-scoring guard with playmaking abilities such as CJ McCollum. Here are three players the Trail Blazers should consider targeting in a trade involving their high-scoring shooting guard.