Portland Trades Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews and Victor Claver to Memphis
Memphis Trades Mike Conley, and Tony Allen to Portland.
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=lbttz3t
I would even throw in a 2018 pick if needed to get the deal done although the straight up deal would be more ideal.
Why do I trade Lillard? Defense. I love Damian but the kids defense is suspect at best he is a dynamic scorer but to win in this league especially in the playoffs we need defense. Conley is a great player in his own regard he can score, pass but mostly his defense elevates him above Lillard in my opinion.
Why do I trade Matthews? I also really like the grit that Wesley provides this team and his three point shooting this year has been terrific but I need Conley and Matthews helps make the salaries match and he should be a valuable enough piece as a scorer and as an expiring contract to convince the Grizzlies to make this deal.
Why do I trade Claver? He won’t play in my rotation so I added him for some cap flexibility.
Why does Memphis do the deal? Conley has a great contract and Allen has provided the grit the team needs in the playoffs to be a threat but the team’s window is closing. Gasol, Randolph, Prince are all expiring contracts next year. Lillard provides long term flexibility for the team as his rookie scale contract opens up lots of potential cap space. In addition, Marc Gasol’s post defense would help hide Lillard’s defense weakness. Matthews would be an upgrade over Lee and Allen at SG, in addition he would be an easily tradeable contract should Memphis decide to blow it up before the deadline next season. The nightlife and the duo of Gasol and Lillard will attract interest in free agents and should help this team remain competitive beyond just next season. If all that is not enough than a future first round pick would provide extra incentive.
Portland seems to have CJ penciled in as SG if that is to be his spot they need to clear room for him. A combo of McCollum and Allen would be great at SG, CJ could come in and provide the offensive spark and perimeter shooting the team needs while Allen could take over defensively.
Conley, Allen, Batum, Aldridge, and Lopez would be a top 10 defensive team and Portland would still be able to score.
I believe this team would give us a much better chance of making a run in the playoffs.
Thoughts, hate messages, bring them on.