NBA: 13 Western Conference Trades That Need To Happen Before The Deadline
By Mason McFee
Who Says No?
You knew it was coming.
Would it really be a trade piece if there wasn’t some crazy blockbuster deal?
(The answer is no, but I think this one actually works).
POR gets: Jimmy Butler
CHI gets: Eric Bledsoe, and 1, maybe 2 of Portland’s 1st rounders in this year’s daft
PHX gets: Damian Lillard
Before I go any further, I cannot take full credit for this trade idea. I got it from reading a trade piece about the Nurkic deal that went down, but it’s interesting – what if Portland packages one of its superstar guards with some of their first rounders for an actual defensive guard? Enter, Jimmy Butler.
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The Bulls are headed to a massive rebuild, whether it be at the deadline or after the regular season is over. The Dwayne Wade-Rondo experiment was doomed to fail from the start, but no one thought it would be this bad.
Portland has flopped after spending a ton of money in the offseason, and no matter how much they spend, cannot hide how nonexistent Lillard and McCollum are on defense. While Lillard and McCollum are definitely top-5 in their respective positions, they can’t exist together defensively; scoring has never been the issue.
Phoenix is rebuilding, but could sell high (or low) on guys like Bledsoe and Knight, and continue to build around guys like Devin Booker and T.J. Warren.
My main motivation for moving Bledsoe for Lillard is because Booker is a lot better defensively than McCollum, and will improve; and Lillard’s offensive ability matches if not exceeds Bledsoe’s.
Chicago loses its best player in Butler, but finds their answer at the PG position and alleviates pressure on their FA decisions; like letting MCW go.
Must Read: 15 Eastern Conference Trades That Need To Happen Before The Deadline
Finally, McCollum is set free! When C.J. doesn’t play with Lillard, he averages darn near 30 PPG. That would be good for top-5in the league this season. He would just be able to get buckets and let Butler take over guarding the opposing team’s best player while having a much better sidekick on both sides of the ball.
Portland loses chances at landing elite talent in this year’s draft, but is set up much better for the future when McCollum’s extension kicks in.