Christian James McCollum has come out blazing for the Portland Trail Blazers this season, averaging 28 points, 5.7 assists, and 4 rebounds per game on 45.5% shooting.
Amid the best stretch of his career, Blazer fans are advocating that the team should keep him, even it means giving up the chance to land a big name star — specifically, James Harden.
And while Portland seems to be an organization that prides itself on loyalty, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report explained why they should (and probably will) give him up if they have the opportunity to land the Rockets star…
While Portland has resisted trading McCollum in the past, there’s rarely been an upgrade at shooting guard available. Now there is.
A backcourt of Lillard and Harden would easily be the best in the NBA, even if it took some time to get the chemistry right. Parting with McCollum should be a last resort in any and all trades, but doing so to get Harden should be seriously considered by Olshey and the Blazers front office.
Needless to say, a backcourt duo of Harden and Lillard has the potential to be even better than Dame’s partnership with CJ.
Harden, an 8x All-Star and 3x Scoring Champion, is one of the best the world has ever seen at putting the ball in the hoop. Even with all that happened in the offseason, he is managing to produce 37 points and 11 assists per game.
And while it remains to be seen what kind of deal the Rockets would settle for, making that kind of move makes a lot of sense for Portland, especially with Lillard set to turn 31 this upcoming summer.
