In 10 games w/out Lillard, CJ McCollum is averaging...

[Portland2014]

Between last year and this year CJ McCollum is averaging nearly 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists with 50%FG when Lillard is out.

Our roster is not balanced at all and if we can get equal return from Lillard we should explore the possibility of trading him.

McCollum is a more efficient scorer, a better ball handler and a better defender.
He only needs to get to the three throw line more.

I don't care how much Lillard loves the community (i only care about winning) and i don't care if he returns @GS and drops 50 on Curry, it is clear to me that the Dame/CJ duo is not sustainable on defense.

If we could get the guarantee that Cousins would re-sign with us i would trade Lillard for him in a heartbeat.

Imagine if teams double-team Cousins on the block with the super-efficient McCollum wide open on the perimeter...

I named Cousins but the same could be said for other frontcourt guys of the same tier of Lillard.

 

[Blazinaway]

Between last year and this year CJ McCollum is averaging nearly 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists with 50%FG when Lillard is out.

Our roster is not balanced at all and if we can get equal return from Lillard we should explore the possibility of trading him.

McCollum is a more efficient scorer, a better ball handler and a better defender.
He only needs to get to the three throw line more.

I don't care how much Lillard loves the community (i only care about winning) and i don't care if he returns @GS and drops 50 on Curry, it is clear to me that the Dame/CJ duo is not sustainable on defense.

If we could get the guarantee that Cousins would re-sign with us i would trade Lillard for him in a heartbeat.

Imagine if teams double-team Cousins on the block with the super-efficient McCollum wide open on the perimeter...

I named Cousins but the same could be said for other frontcourt guys of the same tier of Lillard.

I think IF one is traded it would be CJ and not Dame, and CJ is only increasing his trade value. However, with Neil at the helm I sorta doubt either is moved, but if Neil gets fired then I think we could see activity.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Who would suggest such a thing!

 

[Rastapopoulos]

 

[dviss1]

Er... Welcome to the Forum with your REDUNDANT trade Dame thread!

 

[RR7]

Who would suggest such a thing!

Last year you wanted to trade CJ for Boban and Kyle Anderson. I can only imagine the garbage you'd look to get for Lillard.

 

[Scalma]

The only thing CJ might be as good at as Lillard is pure scoring. Lillard actually makes his teammates better, and is a much better playmaker and decision maker. He's a better defender too, the only difference without dame out there right now is we are able to hide CJ a lot more, so it creates the illusion that were better with him when in reality were just better because we don't have the redundancy in the backcourt. We'd be even better defensively with Dame instead of CJ.

The solution here is simple; trade CJ.

 

[dviss1]

@HCP this thread tho...

 

[riverman]

A franchise player like Lillard is a rare guy to draft. No way we trade him for Cousins. Cousins can flip on a dime...and he'll whine if he's not the guy shooting the ball. For us this is not clever addition by subtraction unless you get a more talented but equally high character guy to take over the team. CJ is not a better defender than Dame. Not at all. I'd swap CJ for several players, I can't say that about Lillard. CJ for Paul George or Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard or Klay Thompson.....hell yes...can't say that for Dame..my 2 cents....I'd only trade Dame for Kevin Durant or Lebron types and that ain't happenin' ....CJ for Paul George or Klay Thompson..that's more what I'd like to see

 

[illmatic99]

@HCP this thread tho...

He might be onto something about newbies starting threads

 

[illmatic99]

Btw, this thread title notes something important.

Dame has missed 10 games in 5 yrs. Total.

Let that sink in.

 

[riverman]

Dame has made the Blazers a global brand in a way that no other Blazer ever has....he's really put Portland on the map for folks who are not necessarily basketball fanatics like us...in other words...George Karl can fuck off

 

[SlyPokerDog]

We should trade Lillard for CJ. A bold move that would make all of the trade Lillard and CJ people come together!

 

[jonnyboy]

My prediction: We are going to stomp ass when Lillard returns (with the exception of maybe to GSW game). Remember last year when Dame was out? CJ took over, found his game and was killing it, just like now, and when Dame returned they BOTH were killing it together. I think the same will happen here. Only difference is this is earlier in the season, and taking our upcoming schedule into account, we have a chance to have a better record after the all star break than we did last year. With the Kings and Nuggets having way harder schedules ahead, we are really going to have to stink to not make at least the 7 seed. Hopefully on top of that we can trade for some defense and not get murdered too bad early in the playoffs.

 

[Pinwheel1]

The only thing CJ might be as good at as Lillard is pure scoring. Lillard actually makes his teammates better, and is a much better playmaker and decision maker. He's a better defender too, the only difference without dame out there right now is we are able to hide CJ a lot more, so it creates the illusion that were better with him when in reality were just better because we don't have the redundancy in the backcourt. We'd be even better defensively with Dame instead of CJ.

The solution here is simple; trade CJ.

The solution is simple.....keep both of them. I still don't buy the redundancy argument because players need rest and players get hurt. This way you always have one on the floor. If we trade one of them, the move will be more than likely a lateral move in the long run. I think building around both of them is the smarter route long term.

Either way we are not winning the NBA championship this year.

 

[trailblazer18]

Between last year and this year CJ McCollum is averaging nearly 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists with 50%FG when Lillard is out.

Our roster is not balanced at all and if we can get equal return from Lillard we should explore the possibility of trading him.

McCollum is a more efficient scorer, a better ball handler and a better defender.
He only needs to get to the three throw line more.

I don't care how much Lillard loves the community (i only care about winning) and i don't care if he returns @GS and drops 50 on Curry, it is clear to me that the Dame/CJ duo is not sustainable on defense.

If we could get the guarantee that Cousins would re-sign with us i would trade Lillard for him in a heartbeat.

Imagine if teams double-team Cousins on the block with the super-efficient McCollum wide open on the perimeter...

I named Cousins but the same could be said for other frontcourt guys of the same tier of Lillard.

Is that you Tunchi?

 

[THE HCP]

Well well well...... WHAT do we have here gentleman. Somebody who just REFUSED to read the fine print when joining our little basketball forum. Let's take a poll on how The HCP should handle this little mess....... I'll leave it up to the you and your nerd brethren on what course of action should be taken.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Lillard was an all star until CJ became a starter.

 

[Minstrel]

Lillard was an all star until CJ became a starter.

And McCollum has never made it to an All-Star game ever since he was paired with Lillard. They're both cancers holding the other back.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

CJ is somewhere between Harden and Reggie Jackson, both of whom had to get their own teams because they were crowded out by Westbrook.

 

[Strenuus]

The only one that WILL go if either do, is CJ... no way in hell does Lillard ever leave because of a 10 game sample divided by a year. Get out of here with this nonsense.

 

[HailBlazers]

He might be onto something about newbies starting threads

Many forums have a post count requirement before authoring threads.

 

[chzbrgr]

Not ALL of us were shitty when we first started out (I think my first post was a thread) dont be stern and put a one and done rule on the forum too!

 

[Boob-No-More]

Between last year and this year CJ McCollum is averaging nearly 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists with 50%FG when Lillard is out.

Others have already pointed out the ridiculously small sample size of 10 games, but you also need to look at the quality of our opponents in those 10 games. With Dame out, C.J. has basically been feasting on the dregs of the league.

In those 10 games, we have exactly one win over a team with a winning record, and even that game was a gift. We beat a CLE team last season that was actively trying (and ended up succeeding) to get their coach fired.

C.J.'s overall numbers in those 10 games:

27.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.7 apg, .505 FG%, .397 3FG%

In 3 games against teams with a winning record:

24.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.7 apg, .483 FG%, .313 3FG%

In 7 games against teams with a combined won-loss percentage of .377:

29.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 6.1 apg, .513 FG%, .426 3FG%

With Dame out, C.J. obviously has the ball in his hands more, which works well for his 2-point game. His biggest strength is creating his own mid-range scoring opportunities. His handle lets him beat his man off the dribble and then his sweet mid-range jumper lets him pull up and hit the shot before the opposing big man can challenge his jumper.

However, (again, within the small sample size), his 3FG% suffers, especially against quality opponents who know how to defend the perimeter. Creating his own 3-point looks is not C.J.'s strength. His 3FG% is much better in catch and shoot situations, and that's why his 3FG% suffers when Dame isn't on the court. The defensive attention Dame commands, combined with his ability to drive, collapse a defense and kick out to the open 3-point shooter benefits C.J. That's why C.J.'s 3FG% is higher when playing with Dame than without him.

Our roster is not balanced at all and if we can get equal return from Lillard we should explore the possibility of trading him.

If we could get the guarantee that Cousins would re-sign with us i would trade Lillard for him in a heartbeat.

Imagine if teams double-team Cousins on the block with the super-efficient McCollum wide open on the perimeter...

I named Cousins but the same could be said for other frontcourt guys of the same tier of Lillard.

The part in bold is where you completely lost me. It hinges on the one factor you have chosen to ignore - leadership. I'm a huge C.J. fan, but he isn't and never will be the leader Dame is. The ONLY way Cousins to POR makes sense is if Lillard is here to help keep Cousins focused on playing basketball and not feuding with the refs, his teammates, his coaches, the front office and the press. Dame and Cousins are friends and Cousins respects Dame. If you trade Dame for Cousins, we instantly become SAC north. Welcome to loserville baby! Cousins would't be happy here and no way does he sign an extension without Dame here. So, you just traded your franchise player and on-the-court and off-the-court leader for a 3 month rental of a chronic malcontent.

The only way you trade Lillard for a big is if it's someone who is a great 2-way player, who is no older than C.J. and is locked up long term, and let's face it, there are only so many Anthony Davises, KATs and Joel Embiids to go around, and nobody is trading any of them anytime soon.

Yes, our roster in unbalanced, we have a horribly weak front court, but I believe there are ways to address that weakness, especially on defense, which is out biggest problem, without trading either of our two best players.

BNM

 

[e_blazer]

CJ is a more efficient shooter. Dame is a better passer/distributor; i.e. a better point guard. I'm still hoping that the Blazers can find a rim protector who makes it possible to cover their defensive weaknesses. I don't want to give up either one of them.

 

[BlazerWookee]

Dame has made the Blazers a global brand in a way that no other Blazer ever has....he's really put Portland on the map for folks who are not necessarily basketball fanatics like us...

Although Brandon certainly raised Dame's starting point quite significantly, if that makes any sense...

 

[BlazerWookee]

Well well well...... WHAT do we have here gentleman. Somebody who just REFUSED to read the fine print when joining our little basketball forum. Let's take a poll on how The HCP should handle this little mess....... I'll leave it up to the you and your nerd brethren on what course of action should be taken.

Make him go the the end of the Mrs. HCP line!

 

[Boob-No-More]

CJ is a more efficient shooter. Dame is a better passer/distributor; i.e. a better point guard. I'm still hoping that the Blazers can find a rim protector who makes it possible to cover their defensive weaknesses. I don't want to give up either one of them.

This.

Allen Crabbe (+ whatever) for Nerlens Noel (+ whatever) just makes so much sense. It's one of those rare trades that benefits both teams.

Noel is an elite defender who is both a great rim protector and great defending the pick and roll. They also have an incredibly imbalanced roster, and their imbalance is the exact opposite of ours. After spending four straight high lottery picks on front court players, they are woefully weak in the back court. This one trade helps balance both rosters.

BNM

 

[jonnyboy]

Well well well...... WHAT do we have here gentleman. Somebody who just REFUSED to read the fine print when joining our little basketball forum. Let's take a poll on how The HCP should handle this little mess....... I'll leave it up to the you and your nerd brethren on what course of action should be taken.

Don't act until your rage-boner subsides. People get hurt that way.

 

[Boob-No-More]

This.

Allen Crabbe (+ whatever) for Nerlens Noel (+ whatever) just makes so much sense. It's one of those rare trades that benefits both teams.

Noel is an elite defender who is both a great rim protector and great defending the pick and roll. They also have an incredibly imbalanced roster, and their imbalance is the exact opposite of ours. After spending four straight high lottery picks on front court players, they are woefully weak in the back court. This one trade helps balance both rosters.

BNM

BTW, Neil needs to make this happen as close to January 15 as possible. No point waiting another 5 weeks until the trade deadline on February 23.

I don't want him to give PHI enough time to come to the inevitable realization that Jahlil Okafor is Marreese Speights 2.0 and decide he's the big man they need to be shopping. Like Speights, Okafor is best suited to an instant offense off the bench role. He'd actually make our defense worse.

BNM