NBA NEWS: CJ McCollum traded to New Orleans Pelicans
Sports Editor Will Lyons breaks down the trade between the Portland Trailblazers and New Orleans Pelicans as things begin to heat up across the NBA as the trade deadline approaches.
The shifty shot creator that spent the first 8 years of his NBA career in Portland is on the move. After being the subject of many fan created trade scenarios for the last few seasons the trade has finally taken place.
McCollum will be paired with NBA All Stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson to form a trio that should move New Orleans back into the playoff picture. This is largely based on the health of the Pelicans young star Zion Williamson. He has been the target of many jokes on social media with weight concerns swirling around while he dealt with injury setbacks while rehabbing.
When healthy, New Orleans has two of the most promising young forwards in the league. One is a skilled player that uses his shot creation and length to create advantages on a nightly basis. The other is a force of nature using his 280-something pound frame and otherworldly athleticism to torture opposing defenses with Shaq like efficiency (shooting 61% on 2pt field goals in his two seasons).
You add a proven veteran scorer that can facilitate when needed and you are looking at the Pelicans in a different light. This is a step in the right direction and a sign that New Orleans wants to keep Zion around but, we have to question if it will be enough in a tough western conference.
The full trade:
New Orleans receives G CJ McCollum, F/C Larry Nance, G/F Tony Snell Grade: A
Portland Receives G Josh Hart, G Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada and draft compensation Grade: D
This does not seem like the draft haul you would expect for a proven 20+ ppg scorer and versatile stretch big in Larry Nance, so you have to wonder what Portland’s next move will be. With Superstar Damian Lillard on the fence in regards to demanding a trade you can expect to see one or two courses of action.
What does this mean for Portland?
We can expect to see Portland use their newly created cap flexibility and draft assets to make a push to surround Dame with better talent in hopes of convincing him to stay. The alternative is a term that is infamous on NBA Twitter, this would be the Blazers blowing up the roster. A move that functions like a multi-million dollar garage sale moving the assets that can fetch the greatest return. We have seen this move in the past like when the OKC Thunder moved All NBA players Russell Westbrook and Paul George after back to back first round playoff exits.
As long as Lillard vocalizes his commitment to Portland we can expect to see him remain in a Blazer uniform. Dame has turned himself into the caliber of player that you only move on from if he expresses that he wishes to be elsewhere. A pure scorer of the highest caliber that has shown that he has the clutch gene like few others in the game right now. Now all the pressure lies on the Portland front office as only Dame knows how much more losing he can tolerate before deciding it’s time for a change of scenery.
