Breaking up the band: Part One – A CJ McCollum trade
Tobias Harris
A CJ for Tobias Harris move would immediately add size and balance to the roster. Harris would likely slot in at small forward. He’s a capable defender and reliable scorer, allowing Powell to move to shooting guard. The Blazers would remain just as lethal from three as they’ve been in recent years, but they’d have a player with size who could attack the basket and get to the free-throw line more often.
McCollum might be a better talent than Harris at this point, but with Powell taking over CJ’s spot at shooting guard, you’d fix one of the team’s glaring weaknesses, perimeter defense at the guard positions. The drawback of this trade is relying on the rest of the roster beyond Dame to produce an actual second All-Star level player. They would need Jusuf Nurkic to finally play to his potential or Harris and/or Powell to take that next step.
I like the balance a Harris trade brings to the Portland Trail Blazers. But it cashes out that McCollum chip without a guarantee that Portland now has a second all-star that Dame has desperately needed in recent years.
Ben Simmons
Still not at the age when most players hit their prime, at 25 years old, Ben Simmons is the most talked-about potential trade target. He’s the one I currently am most excited about possibly getting. Arguably the best perimeter defender in the game, Simmons could cause all sorts of problems for opposing offenses. That kind of ability would allow Covington and Nurkic to be in a more “attack mode” on defense rather than the “damage control” roles they currently have.
Drawbacks about Simmons’ ability to shoot the basketball are warranted. Still, even with that slight, he’s scored 15.9 points per game on 56 percent field goal shooting in his young four-year career. Which would mean he is highly effective at getting to the basket and making his shots around the rim. A 6’11” slasher known for phenomenal court vision (career average of 7.7 assists per game) while being the primary ball-handler on a team that was the one seed in the Eastern Conference this past season.
Page 3 – “Wishing for a star”