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While Damian Lillard remains the Portland Trail Blazers' most prized possession, they're also receiving offers for CJ McCollum as per the latest NBA trade rumors. McCollum was drafted in 2013, a year after Lillard, and has acted as his brother in arms ever since.
The Portland Trail Blazers have not been open to the idea of trading CJ McCollum thus far, but their stance may change soon. He's Portland's only real asset that can be leveraged to significantly upgrade their roster.
As things stand, the Blazers are only receiving draft picks in offers for McCollum, per Jason Quick of The Athletic. Quick wrote the following:
"Teams are calling the Blazers and asking for CJ McCollum and, in return, offering Portland a chance to get into the top part of the draft. But Portland is not entertaining those offers because it is in a win-now phase and looking for veterans more than rookies to build around."
CJ McCollum endured an injury-plagued campaign in 2020-21, but he still averaged 23.1 points and 4.7 assists per game, both career-highs.
NBA Trade Rumors: What's next for CJ McCollum and the Portland Trail Blazers?
CJ McCollum's future with the Portland Trail Blazers is in jeopardy. As long as Damian Lillard is in Portland, the franchise is unlikely to trade McCollum for draft picks. But president of basketball operations Neil Olshey will be open to trading McCollum if he can be packaged to land another star talent such as Ben Simmons.
If Lillard gets traded, though, McCollum could become the Portland Trail Blazers' primary ballhandler depending on the assets that the team gets back. He would then remain in Portland if the franchise decides to remain competitive.
If the Blazers were to blow everything apart and start rebuilding, then they'll probably look to move CJ McCollum in exchange for young players or draft picks. Either way, McCollum's future with the Portland Trail Blazers is tied to Damian Lillard's plans, one way or the other.
