Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have started alongside one another for four years, long enough for those in the NBA world to conceive of every possible way they could be pried apart. Both are natural scorers, listed at 6'3", and capable of initiating an offense. To some, this will always read as redundancy—reason enough to trade one or the other, and thus to play the parlor game of how such a thing might be possible. Members of other organizations brainstorm possibilities. Media types debate the merits. If one were to mine the data depths of the Trade Machine, they would find a trove of hypothetical moves for either Lillard or McCollum, bringing to Portland some wing or big with less potential for overlap.
Rather Than Separate Their Stars, the Blazers Bet on Their Foundation
