Zombie Trading CJ (2 Viewers)

[BigGameDamian]

I wonder if CJ for Butler might be good for both teams. Sounds like CHI isn't too pleased with the direction Butler is headed, specifically his "leadership". I think CJ is hands-down a better, more capable leader than Butler. I think Butler is massively overrated, but he could solve some of the issues that CJ poses for us - namely defense. Also, he gets to the line a lot (or at least he use to...haven't paid attention recently). I'm not sure I'd do it (I don't like Butler), but it might be one of those times it works for both teams.

You also thought Aldridge was massively overated.

 

[BonesJones]

fantasy is fun, I get it, but reality is an interesting place too. Give it a try sometime

STOMP

The reality is is that their isn't a "perfect fit", so we shouldn't be trying to trade CJ.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Tell me this; if the Blazers had two Steph Currys, would you suggest trading one for a better-balanced lineup? I'm not saying that Dame or CJ are Curry-level players (yet), just asking a hypothetical . . .

If I had two Stephen Currys... tell me GSW wouldn't rather have a second Steph Curry than Klay Thompson.

The wildcard is Crabbe though. He is the prototypical NBA shooting guard, and he is starting to come into his own. If he keeps growing, he could be a max guy. Can you see us rolling with three max guards?

We laughed at OKC for not keeping three max-worthy wings... If all three are max worthy, we will be winning games, and if they are and we're not, Stotts is going to be coaching somewhere else.

 

[Pinwheel1]

To go forward with CJ as the SG for the next decade or so you need:

*A lockdown defender at SF (RHJ could've been this)
*A legit shotblocker

In the playoffs CJ will be posted on the reg. We need a weakside shotblocker to soften this.

Why don't they do that during the regular season?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

http://www.libertyballers.com/2015/12/28/10672792/cj-mccollum

 

[BlazerCaravan]

http://www.libertyballers.com/2015/12/28/10672792/cj-mccollum

They got some good amateur GMs in Philly. I wonder if one will get the real job soon.

 

[Rhal]

I wonder if Beal for CJ isnt an option. I havent watched to much Wash but Beals supposed to be a great defender and shoots a very nice % from 3. Only real downside is we would be shelling out huge $$$ to keep him this summer.

 

[BBert]

http://www.libertyballers.com/2015/12/28/10672792/cj-mccollum

Haha. I wonder if those posters would think I'm as dumb as I think they are?

 

[HolyBackboard]

I wonder if Beal for CJ isnt an option. I havent watched to much Wash but Beals supposed to be a great defender and shoots a very nice % from 3. Only real downside is we would be shelling out huge $$$ to keep him this summer.

I'd pass on that. Beal can't seem to stay healthy and, this may be the rose-colored glasses, but I think CJ's a more polished offensive player.

 

[riverman]

This was the season of emerging players according to Olshey....so as they emerge, why do we want to trade them? Right now CJ is producing better than Wes did

 

[blue9]

This was the season of emerging players according to Olshey....so as they emerge, why do we want to trade them? Right now CJ is producing better than Wes did

So far only two players have emerged - CJ and Crabbe. And CJ hasn't really emerged, as much as he's doing things he's always been able to do he's just now doing it consistently in the NBA.

 

[Pinwheel1]

So far only two players have emerged - CJ and Crabbe. .

Only two players? I think that is pretty good. Plus I also think Plumlee is emerging as a pretty good center.

Now we just need Vonleh or Meyers to emerge. (Or maybe Harkless?)

 

[blue9]

Only two players? I think that is pretty good. Plus I also think Plumlee is emerging as a pretty good center.

Now we just need Vonleh or Meyers to emerge. (Or maybe Harkless?)

Plumlee is doing what he did last year. CJ hasn't developed, he's just performing consistently. My point is that in a developmental season we've seen very little development.
Yes, we should really be focusing on Meyers, Vonleh, and Harkless - two of those three players need to show marked improvement by the end of the season otherwise this season has been a failure. Other than giving Vonleh some token minutes to get him acclimated to the game we aren't seeing any concerted effort to develop these guys.

 

[riverman]

Only two players? I think that is pretty good. Plus I also think Plumlee is emerging as a pretty good center.

Now we just need Vonleh or Meyers to emerge. (Or maybe Harkless?)

and Frazier,Montero, Alexander and Connaughton

 

[Denny Crane]

My theory is if you have two guys at the same position, you might trade the better of the two because you get more back in trade.

However, the CBA really messes this up if the other team can't manage the salary in their cap space.

I don't see why we can't eventually have CJ as super sub 6th man. The only reason the two can't play together over the long haul might be defense. Smurf back courts are difficult to win with.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Plumlee is doing what he did last year. CJ hasn't developed, he's just performing consistently. My point is that in a developmental season we've seen very little development.
Yes, we should really be focusing on Meyers, Vonleh, and Harkless - two of those three players need to show marked improvement by the end of the season otherwise this season has been a failure. Other than giving Vonleh some token minutes to get him acclimated to the game we aren't seeing any concerted effort to develop these guys.

I think CJ has developed quite a bit as the back up PG. No comparison IMO to last year.

As for Plumlee I guess you are right, except I think he has developed his passing. He already has 15 more assists for the year then he had all of last year, and he played all 82 games last year.

 

[illmatic99]

Plumlee is doing what he did last year. CJ hasn't developed, he's just performing consistently. My point is that in a developmental season we've seen very little development.
Yes, we should really be focusing on Meyers, Vonleh, and Harkless - two of those three players need to show marked improvement by the end of the season otherwise this season has been a failure. Other than giving Vonleh some token minutes to get him acclimated to the game we aren't seeing any concerted effort to develop these guys.

Um what?

What exactly is your definition of development? CJ could not play this complete game last year.

 

[handiman]

Trading CJ might be the only way we tank for a draft pick this year...

 

[e_blazer]

Plumlee is doing what he did last year. CJ hasn't developed, he's just performing consistently. My point is that in a developmental season we've seen very little development.
Yes, we should really be focusing on Meyers, Vonleh, and Harkless - two of those three players need to show marked improvement by the end of the season otherwise this season has been a failure. Other than giving Vonleh some token minutes to get him acclimated to the game we aren't seeing any concerted effort to develop these guys.

Wow. Two guards playing at an All-Star level and a 3rd emerging from being just a defender to an all-around contributor; a center who every game displays more attributes of his game, and a team that is able to win 3 in a row without its best player. Yup, the glass is just almost empty in Blazerville.

 

[Tunchi]

So is Cj a superstar? What the hell is this guy turning into?

 

[chzbrgr]

My theory is if you have two guys at the same position, you might trade the better of the two because you get more back in trade.

However, the CBA really messes this up if the other team can't manage the salary in their cap space.

I don't see why we can't eventually have CJ as super sub 6th man. The only reason the two can't play together over the long haul might be defense. Smurf back courts are difficult to win with.

ever heard of Joe Dumars and Isaiah Thomas?

 

[Blazinaway]

well IF we ever decide to trade CJ the cost to the team wanting him continues to climb - CJ INFLATION

 

[mook]

I love CJ's game, but I stand by my initial post. What he does is fantastic, but there are diminishing returns of having two guys so similar on the same team. It's kind of like LeBron playing with Love--sure, they can make it work, but there's probably somebody else in the league who has similar value who is a better fit next to the star player.

I'd love to see CJ traded (with filler) for Cousins. Seems like a perfect fit for both teams--they need character and a face of the franchise that fans can actually like, and we need a talented scoring big. Rondo seems a great paring for CJ as well--the passer/defender and the perimeter scorer.

I'll always be a fan of CJ, no matter where he goes. Honestly, I don't think Lillard would be that upset. He likes CJ, but he also knows CJ will never realize his potential living in the shadow of Damian.

CJ is inevitably going to want to be Damian Lillard for his own team.

 

[STOMP]

The reality is is that their isn't a "perfect fit", so we shouldn't be trying to trade CJ.

I've never addressed if they should trade CJ silly, I'm pointing out the reality of various player sizes... a reality that obviously you want to tune out. Lillard & CJ are more or less the same size which is a decent (or average) size for a starting NBA PG. You can pretend this isn't true, but it is.

I'm pretty much always for trading anyone on the roster if it improves the team's talent & fit. This current team has substantial room to improve in both categories.

STOMP

 

[BBert]

Wow. Two guards playing at an All-Star level and a 3rd emerging from being just a defender to an all-around contributor; a center who every game displays more attributes of his game, and a team that is able to win 3 in a row without its best player. Yup, the glass is just almost empty in Blazerville.

Quick! Trade one of them!!!1!

 

[julius]

Quick! Trade one of them!!!1!

screw that, trade 2 of them!

 

[Blazinaway]

It gets even more interesting when one looks at CJ's PG stats for the 4 games when Dame has been out:

CJ w/o Lillard
24.8 ppg
6.5 apg
5.8 rpg
2.3 topg
.477 FG
.320 3pt

Lillard this season
24.6 ppg
6.8 apg
4.5 rpg
3.5 topg
.418 FG
.364 3pt

 

[Tunchi]

It gets even more interesting when one looks at CJ's PG stats for the 4 games when Dame has been out:

CJ w/o Lillard
24.8 ppg
6.5 apg
5.8 rpg
2.3 topg
.477 FG
.320 3pt

Lillard this season
24.6 ppg
6.8 apg
4.5 rpg
3.5 topg
.418 FG
.364 3pt

Like I've been saying. Do not be shocked if Cj ends up being better than Dame by the end of the season.

What does Lillard really do better than Cj? Really the only thing I can think of is athleticism and other than that nothing much.

I'll say it again... Cj might be better than Lillard.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I love CJ's game, but I stand by my initial post. What he does is fantastic, but there are diminishing returns of having two guys so similar on the same team. It's kind of like LeBron playing with Love--sure, they can make it work, but there's probably somebody else in the league who has similar value who is a better fit next to the star player.

I'd love to see CJ traded (with filler) for Cousins. Seems like a perfect fit for both teams--they need character and a face of the franchise that fans can actually like, and we need a talented scoring big. Rondo seems a great paring for CJ as well--the passer/defender and the perimeter scorer.

I'll always be a fan of CJ, no matter where he goes. Honestly, I don't think Lillard would be that upset. He likes CJ, but he also knows CJ will never realize his potential living in the shadow of Damian.

CJ is inevitably going to want to be Damian Lillard for his own team.

The thing about Cleveland is that they have Triston Thompson too. A completely different type of PF. So they have options. (We have Crabbe) So they have versatility and depth in case of injuries. And injuries almost always occur. Kind of wish we kept Moses even though we had Bill. But even though Damian may never have a career or even season ending injury, what about the wear and tear we have seen him get playing big minutes the last few years? It takes a toll mentally and physically. I think it would be nice to have the luxury of having two guards who can be "the man" on any given night. Especially when one of them is having a bad night.

Are we really wanting to trade CJ because we think he wants his own team? Players like playing with their friends and they like winning, so as long as he gets paid, I think CJ will be fine. He doesn't seem to be the type of player who wants his own team. Not if he cares about winning.

Regardless Neil has time to evaluate the situation. No need to rush into anything. See if it works. Their trade value won't diminish in the eyes of wise GM's. Personally if they want to play together, then I would build around them.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

ever heard of Joe Dumars and Isaiah Thomas?

1. "Difficult to win with" is compatible with you coming up with ONE example.
2. Isiah Thomas was probably the greatest 6-footer ever up to that time. He was certainly the best of his era. Damian is good, but he's not in that league.
3. Michael Jordan once said that the player who guarded him the best of anyone was Joe Dumars. If anyone says that of CJ it's because they haven't PLAYED anyone else.