In Portland, the Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum backcourt has been the feature for years now. As two of the NBA’s best scoring guards, it’s easy to see why former team President Neil Olshey was so reluctant to break them up.
Amid the arrival of Anfernee Simons, however, there is word that the Blazers might be ready to move on from CJ McCollum for good.
The latest update from NBA insider Marc Stein:
When it was announced recently that Portland’s Lillard was headed for abdominal surgery, I remember a rival executive asking me if I was ready for “the Anfernee Simons audition.” I really hadn’t given it much thought, but Simons sure was. The restricted free agent-to-be is averaging 24.2 points and has made 4.6 3-pointers per game in January to spark some of the loudest speculation yet in the Pacific Northwest that the Trail Blazers are finally ready to break up the Lillard/CJ McCollum partnership that former team president Neil Olshey considered sacred for so long to make room for a re-upped Simons.
Simons was given the chance to shine after Portland was ravaged by injuries to McCollum, Norman Powell, and even Damian Lillard, who has missed a chunk of the season with abdominal troubles.
With no CJ, Dame, or Norm, Simons was given free rein of the team and he has made the most of the opportunity, averaging 15.7 points and 3.7 assists per game on 44% shooting.
Sadly, this season is wash for the Blazers, who sit 7 games under .500 and 6.5 games back from the 6th seeded Nuggets. It’s another year wasted for the Blazers, and another year of Lillard’s prime gone.
With the deadline looming, there is a chance the team can still salvage something from this campaign. If they can trade McCollum for some win-now pieces (like in this potential trade with the Celtics), it could go a long way in building a true contender for the future.
