Fans of the Portland Trail Blazers were heartbroken last week when it was announced the team was trading away longtime Blazers icon CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.
In total, the trade package included McCollum, Larry Nance Jr, and Tony Snell in exchange for Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, a protected 2022 first-round pick, and two second-round picks.
Portland's plan is to fully reshape roster around Damian Lillard now. Portland created a $21M trade exception today, potentially $60M in salary cap space this summer, multiple draft picks and assets via Pels and Clippers trades. Plan is to pursue high-end talent now, not retreat.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022
For the Pelicans, the trade gave them a sharpshooter who has a lot of upside and could help the team survive and push into the postseason, especially since it looks like Zion Williamson isn’t coming back any time soon.
For Portland, it means that the team has firmly decided against a rebuild and throwing all of their efforts and hopes into retaining Damian Lilllard.
In The Money
The McCollum package has given Portland a lot of one thing: money.
And in the NBA trade season, money is power.
At first, it looks like Portland agreed to a subpar deal and like they are tearing down their entire roster.
CJ McCollum leaves Portland as the franchise’s fifth-leading scorer with 10,710 career points.
He made his mark in Blazers’ record books:
◻️ 2nd in 3-pointers (1,297)
◻️ 4th in field goals (4,110)
◻️ 8th in assists (1,839)
◻️ 9th in games (564)@CJMcCollum | @trailblazers pic.twitter.com/wpzpgjhT2E— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 8, 2022
But in reality, they are actually lining their pockets with cash in hope of landing more talent.
After getting rid of the $90 million contract of Norman Powell and the $100 still owed to McCollum, Portland has approximately $60 million in cap space.
They also have $21 million trade exceptions too.
These will all be used as assets if the team decides to make some trade and land a major star to play alongside Lillard.
The hefty cap space means that they can target some pretty big names to help bolster the roster.
In other words, the team is hoping the cash they acquired will give them their pick of some stellar talent in the offseason.
But don’t forget that they still have a few cards up their sleeves, too.
Jusuf Nurkic, Keon Johnson, and Nassir Little may all be on the chopping block if Portland includes them in a package to land other stars.
Aside from Lillard and Anfernee Simons, the Blazers will likely be willing to ship away anyone in hopes of building a stronger team.
Dame Time Continues?
The Portland-New Orleans trade got some bad reviews from fans but if you look at the larger picture, the deal is good news for anyone who wants Lillard to remain in Rose City.
It might not lead to immediate success in the near future but it has a good chance at guaranteeing victory, even if it doesn’t come until next season.
The goal for Portland has always been to keep Lillard and this trade might have strengthened the chance of doing that.
Instead of trading Lillard away, the team has decided to double down on him and give him what he needs for success.
Now Portland fans can eagerly await any future moves to see if the team is able to translate all this extra cash into extra talent.
This season might be a lost cause but there is now a slight reason to think the Blazers’ brighter days – with Lillard – really might be ahead.
NEXT: Should The Trail Blazers Try To Tank Now?
