Plausible CJ trades that don't involve the Sixers?

[illmatic99]

not surprising....

 

[wizenheimer]

not surprising....

in the last 3 seasons, when CJ missed any stretch of games, Portland won at a rate of a 53 win season. And, 2/3rds of the games CJ missed, Nurkic missed as well, so that all suggests the Blazers need to make a change. CJ disrupts offensive flow and significantly hurts the defense. Further, I think it's too the point that when Dame & CJ are on the floor together they too often get locked into a 'it's-my-turn-it's-your-turn-it's-my-turn-again' iso offense. They entitle each other's bad shot selection and dribble-happy hero-ball. The best version of Dame has been when CJ is off the floor or hardly involved in the offense. Last I saw, Dame averaged 10 assists when CJ was out

The Dame/CJ experiment should have been ended at least 4 years ago

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

From Sports Illustrated. First part of article is just blasting Blazer culture, but here is most of the rest. Most interesting for me is that Portland makes teams work for a long time to get their shot, but then they are most likely to make it. Looks like a problem of sustaining energy?
"Lillard and McCollum bring plenty of scoring firepower. But the starting backcourt has always lacked the size or defensive chops to get consistent stops. Opposing teams see no resistance when it comes to getting into the paint, shooting 50% on runners—the highest mark in the NBA, per Synergy—against Portland. Opposing teams hit almost 39% of their triples against the Blazers, the highest mark in the league. Opposing teams have the highest effective field goal rate in the league against the club. All of which perhaps makes the next stat unsurprising: Statistically, the Blazers own the worst defense in the entire NBA, something that’s been true—or if not, very close to it—for the better part of the last three seasons now.

For the longest time, it’s been clear that a shakeup is needed. In Lillard and McCollum, the team generally has no problem scoring. But it miscasts Robert Covington—a great help defender, but one who’s long been overrated as a one-on-one stopper against elite wings—and finds itself out of alignment when teams swing the ball on offense. (Opposing offenses use more of the shot clock against Portland than any other team, per Inpredictable. But it makes no difference, with the Blazers unable to get stops.)

The most obvious fix would be to deal for Ben Simmons, who would theoretically give the Blazers the star defender they’ve long lacked while also giving them a valuable offensive weapon that approximates what Draymond Green does in the short roll with Golden State. Much like Stephen Curry, Lillard’s 35-foot range forces opposing defenses to send occasional half-court traps, forcing him to surrender the ball to someone who’d be playing downhill against a 4-on-3 scenario. Between the elite passing, and the athleticism that allows him to get a head of steam toward the rim, we know those are things the 6' 10" Simmons can do.

Of course there would be questions to ask before making such a deal. Is ownership comfortable with an interim general manager pulling the trigger on a deal for that much long-term salary for a player who’s showcased shortcomings underneath the brightest lights and been at the center of a headline-grabbing standoff with his team all season? (If the idea is for Portland to eventually find a permanent general manager instead, perhaps you don’t want the interim making a deal of that magnitude.) Does Lillard actually prefer Simmons to someone like McCollum—currently out with a collapsed lung—as has been reported?

And beyond that, how desperately does the organization need to seek Lillard’s sign-off? Certainly, the team positions itself better if it’s in step with what Lillard thinks and feels. But if the team ends up standing pat throughout the rest of this season and has no clear path upward this coming summer, the Blazers would be doing themselves a disservice to not at least explore what the market for a player like Lillard would yield."
https://www.si.com/nba/2021/12/09/blazers-damian-lillard-future-ben-simmons-trade-rumors

 

[illmatic99]

Pistons have no centers and could use Nurk's bird rights. CJ could work with Carlisle.


Dame
Powell
Grant
Nance
Turner

with Simons/Nas/Lamb/Zeller as your rotation.

 

[Minstrel]

Pistons have no centers and could use Nurk's bird rights. CJ could work with Carlisle.
View attachment 42812

Dame
Powell
Grant
Nance
Turner

with Simons/Nas/Lamb/Zeller as your rotation.

The Pacers are reportedly looking for deals to kickstart a complete rebuild. They aren't going to trade Turner for an older player on a large contract who isn't even a star.

 

[illmatic99]

The Pacers are reportedly looking for deals to kickstart a complete rebuild. They aren't going to trade Turner for an older player on a large contract who isn't even a star.

mixed signals on that one:

Moments earlier, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Bob Kravitz reported the team is moving toward a substantial rebuild and is expected to open up trade discussions around Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis and Turner. So Pacers president Kevin Pritchard and Carlisle convened those three players and Brogdon for an impromptu meeting to address the report.

“We just talked about the article and how we try to be super transparent with the players. If they ever want to ask me anything, they can ask me anything,” Pritchard told The Athletic after the meeting was over. “When we get close to making a trade, we don’t try to just bop a guy over the head with, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re traded.’ We will give them a heads up, and we’ve done that multiple times.”

Pritchard told the players that while they are fielding plenty of calls for Sabonis and Turner, in particular, the organization still believes in their pairing and wants to see it through this season, according to multiple sources in the room. He and Carlisle told the players they still believe they can turn the season around and they do not want to go into a full rebuild at this juncture. But they have to say that if they want to hold the team together. At 11-16, can they afford to keep seeing if this can work?

 

[Minstrel]

mixed signals on that one:

But that exact same report says that they want to see it through the rest of this season with both Sabonis and Turner. So either they aren't available and they'll try to turn around the season, or they are because Indiana has decided to rebuild. I don't think they're ever going to be in a mode where they trade future for present (Turner for McCollum).

 

[blazerkor]

A series of trades. Not a four team trade or any other form of multi team trade. Just one by one we make these trades. First we trade CJ and RoCo to Indy for LeVert and Turner. Next we take the protection off of the pick we owe Chicago in the upcoming draft, then trade Nurk, LeVert, our 2024 1st and our 2026 1st lottery protected to Toronto for Siakam. Lastly we trade Siakam to Philly for Simmons and possibly have the upper hand to also get a future pick coming back too. So the image was palatable I made it a four team trade but each individual trade works under the CBA. We also get under the luxury tax apron. We would have to sign a GLeaguer or FA on the buyout market to meet our roster minimum.


If all of this seems implausible I would trade CJ and RoCo for Turner and Levert to keep both of them and then see what we could get for Nurk. I'm sure some of you would leave the last trade out and just keep Siakam if we could get him and I understand that, I just think Simmons is a superstar forward on offense if playing with Dame, to go with his already incomparable defense.

 

[Hoopguru]

A series of trades. Not a four team trade or any other form of multi team trade. Just one by one we make these trades. First we trade CJ and RoCo to Indy for LeVert and Turner. Next we take the protection off of the pick we owe Chicago in the upcoming draft, then trade Nurk, LeVert, our 2024 1st and our 2026 1st lottery protected to Toronto for Siakam. Lastly we trade Siakam to Philly for Simmons and possibly have the upper hand to also get a future pick coming back too. So the image was palatable I made it a four team trade but each individual trade works under the CBA. We also get under the luxury tax apron. We would have to sign a GLeaguer or FA on the buyout market to meet our roster minimum.
View attachment 42835

If all of this seems implausible I would trade CJ and RoCo for Turner and Levert to keep both of them and then see what we could get for Nurk. I'm sure some of you would leave the last trade out and just keep Siakam if we could get him and I understand that, I just think Simmons is a superstar forward on offense if playing with Dame, to go with his already incomparable defense.

Would Philly start Siakam with Harris?

 

[Minstrel]

If all of this seems implausible I would trade CJ and RoCo for Turner and Levert to keep both of them and then see what we could get for Nurk.

That trade alone is implausible. If the Pacers start trading their best players, it's to rebuild--not to acquire an older, overpaid, non-star veteran. I don't see the Pacers being at all interested in McCollum, especially as a youth-for-veteran move.

 

[B-Roy]

 

[tykendo]

That trade alone is implausible. If the Pacers start trading their best players, it's to rebuild--not to acquire an older, overpaid, non-star veteran. I don't see the Pacers being at all interested in McCollum, especially as a youth-for-veteran move.

Probably true, but this is one of the best scenarios i've seen on here. Most of these trade ideas are crap for everyone involved. This one at least gives needs a thought.

 

[tykendo]

View attachment 42839

I like Hayward & Grant, but i'll pass on plumdog. Keep Nurk, bring the other two and i like it.

 

[Labinot41]

Pistons have no centers and could use Nurk's bird rights. CJ could work with Carlisle.
View attachment 42812

Dame
Powell
Grant
Nance
Turner

with Simons/Nas/Lamb/Zeller as your rotation.

Where is the 2nd star on the team?

 

[illmatic99]

Where is the 2nd star on the team?

We have one now?

 

[Labinot41]

We have one now?

Nope, thats why we could do better than that

 

[blazerkor]

Would Philly start Siakam with Harris?

I think they're athletic enough to start at the forward spots, both rotate onto SFs well and both have started at SF in their careers.

 

[blazerkor]

That trade alone is implausible. If the Pacers start trading their best players, it's to rebuild--not to acquire an older, overpaid, non-star veteran. I don't see the Pacers being at all interested in McCollum, especially as a youth-for-veteran move.

Calling LeVert and Turner youth when LeVert was drafted three years after CJ and Turner just two years after CJ isn't really accurate. If you don't think the value adds up to being equal that's your opinion but neither has been an all star and both of them have been in the league for more than five years. So yeah, we get a little younger but I think the Pacers are lacking a second feature scorer to go with Sabonis. Hell if CJ was traded there he would probably lead them in scoring over Sabonis. Maybe Indy blows it up but I don't think so and I definitely don't see them just standing pat at the trade deadline given how they've performed so far.

 

[Minstrel]

Calling LeVert and Turner youth when LeVert was drafted three years after CJ and Turner just two years after CJ isn't really accurate.

I was referring to Turner. Turner is 25. McCollum is 30. 5 years is a gigantic difference in athlete ages. It's completely accurate to say that Indiana would be trading a young player for a veteran. That could make sense if they were getting a great veteran, an All Star. But McCollum isn't that. Further, McCollum is overpaid, whereas not many think Turner is. So you're asking Indiana to trade the younger player and the better contract for a more limited player. That simply isn't a reasonable ask.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Gross.

Tobias is this generation’s Rudy Gay.

Easy pass.

 

[blazerkor]

I was referring to Turner. Turner is 25. McCollum is 30. 5 years is a gigantic difference in athlete ages. It's completely accurate to say that Indiana would be trading a young player for a veteran. That could make sense if they were getting a great veteran, an All Star. But McCollum isn't that. Further, McCollum is overpaid, whereas not many think Turner is. So you're asking Indiana to trade the younger player and the better contract for a more limited player. That simply isn't a reasonable ask.

I think years played in the league is much more telling than player age... which makes them a lot closer. Regardless, I think CJ really fits in a dynamic back court with Brogdon who is really big PG. I think the two of them would really open up all areas of the court for Sabonis which would further unlock his potential. I think it's a good trade for Indy but we obviously disagree on that.

 

[GDiama]

Fournier has been bad this season, but that goes basically for every Knicks player so i think the situation there just isn't right. This is not great value but it is something. We get a 6'7 SG-SF who can shoot the ball and is a better defender than CJ. We can play him next to Powell, but we can also bring him off the bench with the new starting SF being Nassir Little. Noel is a good backup C that has the mobility to switch on smaller guys. He was a +3.5 DBPM last season which is amazing. This trade gives us also the ability to explore Nurk's trade market and see if we can get something solid there. If not Nurk-Noel duo has us covered in all types of situations.

I think we are past the point where we can move the needle and get a difference maker by moving CJ. We should just get something that fits the current roster in a better way and I think this one does address some of our issues.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

hoopshype mentions a possible three way scenario where Portland ends up with Jerami Grant

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Still not a fan of Grant. He's a role player who's been given the green light in Detroit. So I'll revive this suggestion:



Having second thoughts. Didn't realize Hayward was older than Dame.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Is this really the best we can do? And would Cronin do it?

 

[blazerkor]

Is this really the best we can do? And would Cronin do it?

View attachment 42945

Love would have to be expiring this season for it to make any sense, especially due to the very real possibility that the Cavs pick won't even be in the lottery.

 

[julius]

Is this really the best we can do? And would Cronin do it?

View attachment 42945

Not if he wants to keep his job as a GM with any team in the NBA.

 

[Hoopguru]

Looks like Cuban might be in search for a guard that can score?
Rumors said he was interested in Kyrie for maybe Porzingis but Cuban said nothing to it.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Not if he wants to keep his job as a GM with any team in the NBA.

What if the alternative is never trading CJ? What then, eh, Mr. "julius"?

 

[julius]

What if the alternative is never trading CJ? What then, eh, Mr. "julius"?

trading CJ for a contract and what would be middle first round is the textbook definition of mediocre