re: Most Likely Star to get traded

Jrue for McCollum makes more sense for the Blazers than Pels, especially now that the Pels have Ingram. The same hole that Portland would be hoping to fill by trading CJ for Jrue would open up on the Pels. As much as people understandably hate on Jrue for inconsistent and unclutch offense, he still averages a reasonably efficient 19-20 ppg for the Pels.

Even if the Pels get more ppg out of McCollum than Jrue

1) Who is CJ taking shots from, if anyone, to get those extra points? ie is it really a net gain in points on offense because he's more efficient than Jrue, or just because he takes 2 more shots per 36 minutes than Jrue? Look at the numbers, their efficiency isn't that far off from each other.

2) How many more points does CJ give up? When McCollum is On Court the Blazers DRtg is 113.6 when he's off, it's 111.4. So he makes the Blazers defense 2.2 points worse every 100 possesions.

Jrue improves the Pels defense 3.9 points per 100. Taking those stats at face value, going from Jrue to CJ makes your defense 6.1 points worse, so you need CJ to add a net gain to the offense of 6.1 points just to break even in a trade, which doesn't appear to be a reasonable expectation.

Obviously offensive and defensive impact isn't as simple as transferring numbers, and team building is chemistry, not algebra, but I think the numbers do show that people underestimate Jrue's contributions on offense and defense if they think CJ McCollum for Jrue solves more problems than it creates.

If you did do a McCollum for Jrue swap you would need stud starting defensive wing that could guard 1-4, an elite rim protector, and Zion to take a jump on defense, which he hopefully will.

I get the fit isn't perfect but i think mccollum is going to get his shot whenever he wants

I just don't see that from ingram yet
The pels need a vet pg in the worst way
Now if they want to just grow slowly and naturally, then yeah trade jrue elsewhere

You are acting like mccollum is some scrub
Who would he take shots from?
Anyone
Have you seen him in the playoffs, once he gets hot, it's over

I’m just tired of watching this team struggle in half court offense.

IMO, you can’t just take a player from one team and plug him into another, while possibly playing a completely different role, and with a different surrounding cast and expect the numbers to be representative of what to expect in the future.

I’m pitching CJ as a 1 here, he’s been playing and guarding 2’s in Portland, where he’s obviously outsized. And in a backcourt with another small guard, who has his own defensive struggles.

I think in a vacuum Jrue is better than CJ, considering neither of them should be the #1 guy on a team. CJ has better skills to be that #1, but his team would suck if he was the best player. As a high level role player, Jrue is the better team player overall.

Jrue would bring more to the Blazers than CJ does, and that doesn't diminish what CJ brings to them. with the emergence of Gary Trent Jr and Melo, they would have a very strong team with two great offensive players and two great perimeter defenders that can also score.

I'd love to get CJ just so he can play the point, and have Ingram at the 2. Draft a SF at 13 and hope for the best. Trade Lonzo/Miller to the Magic for Aaron Gordon
CJ
Ingram
#13/Hart
Zion
Gordon

I feel confident we can turn Gordon into a 38% 3 point shooter.
We would need a coach that could coach this team to be a top 5 offense, b/c defensively they may struggle.