I just thought about something today: Out of the top 10 shooting guards in the league, who can play point guard as well as CJ? Maybe Wade, but it will probably be a bad idea. It's pretty unique and he should get credit for it. I use to cringe whenever he got the ball and now he handles the ball really well.
I definitely remember thinking that he was NOT a point guard when they tried him out at that position, but he has improved markedly since his first couple seasons.
He's still definitely a Shooting Guard, he was born to be a scorer, but he can fill that PG role when needed.
Here's a list of some of the top players in the league right now - Where do you see CJ on this list (not considering salary)? The title of this thread is 'Trading CJ'. I don't think it's a matter of Yes or No. Everyone has a value. I'm in the camp that believes CJ and Dame can be successful together and the Blazers shouldn't be actively looking to trade him. But if another GM came to the Blazers, who on this list would you be tempted with? It's amazing that we're even looking at these names and comparing CJ to them. Many of these names are established all-stars, and here we are wondering were he fits in among this group. CJ's rise has been meteoric this year!
BUMP.......The Blazers have already committed to Damian Lillard. Is Crabbe good enough to start and play on a competitive team next to Damian? I think Henderson could be a good 6th man. Should this be looked at again? The Blazers need to make a splash this off season.
I have lost a lot of faith in Crabbe over the past month or two. He has been a complete no-show in this series. With that said, I would still look at trading CJ for the right price.
Easily CJ over Crabbe. Crabbe has been a complete no-show. He doesn't have the right temperament. At least CJ is trying.
It makes the most basketball sense to trade Dame, he has higher trade value. CJ is still improving and hasn't maximized his value. This is also Dame's 4th year here as a full time starter. Its nearly unheard of for us to keep a starter for longer than that. LaMarcus is the only one since Rasheed. Those are the only two guys to do so since the Drexler era over 20 years ago. Trade Dame in the next year than CJ can follow. Neither plays the defense necessary to contend.
The blazers miss a guy who can get easy baskets. LMA was tall enough that he could get good looks at the basket and his jumper off easy. A player with similar ability is Pau Gasol, who is likely to be a UFA this summer. The guy can't play defense, but he grabs lots of rebounds and does block shots.
It doesnt make the most sense when you facotr in the organization just made him a max player and he is JUST signing a new contract. How many players have signed a max deal and then been traded before playing a game with that max deal? Your wants are dilusional, even if they make sense. The organization isnt going to trade Dame this off season so why waste time and energy discussing it?
Okay. I take it back. I thought you were actually being serious when you said you only read threads you create. Not that you care, but your back on my "A" list for posters.; You got me
I suppose I'll copy/paste what I posted in another thread: I got off the "Trade CJ" wagon in December. With that said, I still come back to the idea of possibly trading him for Butler. I don't know that I'd do it - and I think I'd want CHI to sweeten the deal, because they are having major issues with Butler and CJ is exactly the sort of player they want/need to build for the future. This could be a win/win for both teams, but because Butler is so mercurial, it could also blow up in our faces - which, again, is why they'd need to sweeten the deal, IMO. I'm also NOT in favor of letting players have control over personnel decisions. But this is a rare case where I'd want total buy-in from Dame before making this sort of move.
