The Portland Trail Blazers started the last week before the 2022 trade deadline strikes by making a big swap with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Oregonians and Californians made a move that serves their respective purposes for the next season.
While the Clips added two big pieces in Norman Powell and Robert Covington, the Blazers made sure to release some money ahead of an important offseason. They’ll try to acquire some talent to help Damian Lillard compete in the Western Conference.
Moreover, this couldn’t be the last move the Blazers make before the trade deadline strikes. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Portland could part ways with CJ McCollum either before the trade deadline or next offseason.
Trail Blazers interim general manager Joe Cronin cited cap flexibility, called Anfernee Simons a “core piece,” and said, “We wanted to create a runway here for him” when discussing his reasoning for selling off Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
Several teams, including the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and others, are expected to have interest in trading for McCollum, who is owed $69.13 million over the next two seasons.
This is an interesting move for the Blazers. They’re not trading for big players right now, knowing that Dame is inactive and won’t return until next season. Instead, they’re paving the way to make some big moves in the offseason, trying to build a competitive team around their star point guard.
McCollum has been Lillard’s sidekick for a while now. Yet, he’s always seen as a currency exchange by people around the league. Some believed he would join the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, but Philly never had intentions of landing CJ. Now, he could join Luka Doncic in Dallas, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson in New Orleans and more.
While some think the Blazers’ front office is making mistakes right now, this could be the right way to land the players that will take them to the next level once Dame is back.
