I don’t want to trade him for the sake of trading him. So, let’s set the table here for any newcomers: I do not dislike CJ McCollum. I feel like the Boy Who Cried They Need To Make a Trade here, because I’ve been saying it bluntly since CJ McCollum’s breakout performance against the Memphis Grizzlies 5-plus years ago. That’s okay in THAT moment, but the need to progress or regress needs to happen. I got to cover it from a view I never thought I’d have, yet they still weren’t in the same class as the either Finals participants. I’m not here to diminish the achievement, but I’m not here to celebrate it beyond that moment either. The Damian Lillard-era Blazers have been a lot of things for a lot of people: a contrast to the “ringzzz” culture, a beacon of commitment, an underdog story, a disappointment, everything you could ever hope for, but there’s one thing they just haven’t been, which is a real contender.īefore the first comment pops up with “but they made the Western Conference Finals?!” just do me a favor and hang your “made the Conference Finals” banner up in your bedroom or office and move on. No matter how unrealistic they may seem, I have to consider them. Otherwise, it’s like staring at the same painting in front of the hamster wheel - and it’s a NICE painting.
If for nothing else, I have to at least entertain the idea of what a change (or changes) could look like. I’ve advocated for change for half of a decade now and I’m getting to the point where I believe this is the last chance they will have to make a move that really matters for THIS version led by Damian Lillard. Portland isn’t the New York Knicks, a team that in spite of all their market advantages fails to put a successful product on the floor year after year, nor are they a team that has refused to spend money or walk the tight-wad tightrope endlessly, treating the franchise more as a money printing machine than a sporting enterprise invested in competition. I’ll be entirely honest: I’ve never wanted a good team to change more than this Portland Trail Blazers team.
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