McCollum and Lillard are the highest scoring back court in the NBA. They consider themselves the future at the position, and the perfect match for each other . They are best friends, great teammates, and perfect role models in the post-Jailblazer/post-prima-donna-Aldridge era. "This is going well so far," Lillard said, "and it's still developing." "When you have good cohesion and a feel for one another and develop a relationship outside of basketball, it makes it easier," McCollum said. But the truth is the only reason CJ starts is because the Blazers are building his trade value. You can't have two guys that similar and that short as a starting back court on a contending-caliber team. Portland needs this feel-good story right now, so they are milking it. But CJ is too valuable to waste next to Lillard--the league is becoming run by these type of players, but only one per team. He's going to get traded, likely for a SF so that Aminu can slide to PF where he belongs. Probably over next summer, but maybe sooner.
Aminu isn't starter quality, so I really doubt they're trading CJ for a SF, so they can move a bench warmer over to the PF spot.
ideally, he'd either be the starting defensive stopper on a team loaded with ball-handlers and scorers, or a bench player
I agree Aminu is a backup on a good team. A very valuable defensive stopper backup, but a backup nonthenevertheless.
Also, if the Blazers are ever going to be a championship caliber team, they are going to need someone like CJ (and Aminu) coming off the bench. What we need is a bigger starting SG and a better starting SF. While keeping CJ and Aminu.
I don't know that they will trade CJ in the next year but I do agree they are too much of a duplication. At least one of them needs to be more of a defensive stopper and it would be nice if every night we weren't one of the smallest backcourts in the league. Of course they score a lot but they remind me WAY TOO MUCH of Curry and Ellis who used to put up a ton of points but couldn't stop or even slow down anyone else and all that scoring let to unbalance with the front court. I really like a lot of what CJ brings but just don't think it is a great long-term fit here.
How do y'all think the Blazers would look if they did nothing other than add DeRozan and Batum to the current team (next year)? I'm certain with that lineup there would be no more talk of lottery picks.
This season is about discovering which players fit with Dames talents. So far this season, the best fit is the Dame/CJ connection. And you want to trade CJ? Unless a no-brainier deal falls into Neal’s lap, play out this hand for the remainder of the season. Start building a team around Dame & CJ. Next off season, use the draft and cap space to fill in the many holes. Everyone is hot for a solid defensive big, rightfully so. But I would make the case that the need for a third G that better compliments Dame and CJ’s skills is just as important. We need a third guard that is more a PG than SG, but can also score when needed. Never thought I would say this, but Jeremy Lin @ $2.1 million would have been a steal. He does the things that would allow Dame or CJ to get some rest without a decline in production. He would help to reduce the turnovers while making the other players on the floor more efficient, plus he can also score when needed. The three guard rotation of Dame/CJ/Jeremy Lin would have been solid. They remind me of the Isaiah Thomas/Joe Dumars/Vinnie Johnson rotation except our rotation would be slightly taller.
I voted no, but not because I'm against trading him. I just don't think Olshey trades him (yet). He's traded A LOT of Dame's friends, but none of them have been particularly good players. I have a hard time seeing Olshey trading another of Dame's best friends who is actually performing well.
