Trail Blazers Won’t Trade C.J. McCollum
Although his name has appeared in a few trade rumors, the Trail Blazers have no plans to make a deal involving C.J. McCollum, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
A source tells Freeman that McCollum will be staying put, even though he was linked to a possible deal with the Cavaliers involving Kevin Love. Portland GM Neil Olshey has said before that he won’t trade away the fifth-year shooting guard.
“It’s a tough situation to be in,” McCollum said when asked about the trade deadline. “I always tell people … imagine you show up to work every day and there’s rumors about you being traded from your job to another job in another city. Every day. And imagine that it actually happens. But you find out the same time everybody else finds out. And you’ve got kids or you’ve got a wife, whatever the case may be. Maybe you bought a house. And now you’re traded and you have to move to another city. And it’s out of your control. Literally out of your control. So it’s a tough situation to be in, but a part of the business.”
McCollum is averaging 21.8 points per game and shooting a career best .425 from 3-point range, but the Blazers are facing a financial crunch, operating roughly $3MM above the tax line. Freeman suggests Noah Vonleh, who has fallen out of the rotation and is making a little more than $3.5MM in the final year of his rookie deal, may the most likely to be dealt.
Woj/Lowe On Blazers, Jordan, Cavs, Hornets
With the February 8 trade deadline right around the corner, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski appeared this morning on Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast to address some rumors and discuss some trade possibilities for teams around the NBA. While Wojnarowski and Lowe didn’t drop any bombshells during their hour-long conversation, the duo did share several items of note, so let’s dive in and round up some highlights…
- Although the Trail Blazers had interest in Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, Wojnarowski hears that Portland has “backed away” as of late. According to Woj, it’s “entirely possible” that Jordan won’t get traded at all this week — the Clips may prefer to simply let him walk in free agency rather than taking on a bad contract or two in order to get a late first-round pick back in a trade.
- Wojnarowski and Lowe discussed Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round pick at length, exploring what sort of deal would entice the Cavaliers to surrender that first-rounder. The duo agreed that Cleveland wouldn’t offer it to the Clippers for Jordan. In Woj’s view, it would take a Paul George-type veteran or a young star on a rookie contract to get the Cavs to part with that pick, but that sort of player isn’t really available.
- The Cavaliers and Hornets have “definitely talked,” with those conversations presumed to have focused on Kemba Walker. That doesn’t mean that any deal is likely though, as virtually every team with any sort of need at point guard has checked in with the Hornets about Walker, per Wojnarowski.
- Despite ongoing speculation that they’ll need to break up their star backcourt at some point, the Trail Blazers have “summarily rejected” any inquiries on Damian Lillard and/or C.J. McCollum, says Lowe. Maurice Harkless is a more realistic trade candidate in Portland, according to Wojnarowski, who says the Kings are one team that has had interest in Harkless in the past.
- While the Nets aren’t necessarily looking to trade Spencer Dinwiddie, they’d have to consider it if they could get a first-round pick, according to Lowe. Woj agreed with that assessment.
And-Ones: Predictions, Discipline, Prospects
In a debut installment of a new feature, Marc Stein of the New York Times made a number of predictions for the upcoming year in basketball. The scribe ventures a guess that this is the year the Trail Blazers blow up their backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Stein writes that dealing one of the star guards would be the easiest way for the Blazers to balance their roster, something that could come in handy if the organization seeks to go in a new direction. Bear in mind, however, that Stein’s prediction applies to this year and not necessarily to this season.
Stein also makes a series of arguments that a pair of big names stay with their current teams, despite ongoing speculation to the contrary. The Times journalist says that LeBron James to the Lakers is no guarantee and that Cleveland stands a legitimate chance of retaining the King.
On a similar note, Stein reasons that DeMarcus Cousins isn’t likely to find the market teeming with attractive salary offers this season and that he’ll end up staying put with the Pelicans.
There’s more from around the league:
- One possible solution to curb the growing tension between NBA players and referees is to ramp up the discipline assigned to players who act hostile to officials. “The hammer has to drop from above,” one Western Conference team official told Ken Berger of Bleacher Report. “When you had David Stern and Rod Thorn there, none of this stuff was going on because they weren’t going to put up with it. I think we’ve gotten away from that. There’s something every night.“
- Four active front offices have made a dozen or more trade deadline deals over the course of their tenures, Bobby Marks of ESPN weighed in on them and the rest of the league’s executives in his latest for ESPN Insiders.
- There has been plenty of movement among the DraftExpress team’s list of the top 100 NBA prospects. Jonathan Givony of ESPN recently broke down a number of NCAA players who’ve recently seen their values rise dramatically.
Northwest Notes: Jokic, Ferguson, Aminu
The time is now for Nikola Jokic to blossom into a leader. Nuggets head coach Mike Malone recently told his third-year big man as much given the absence of veteran power forward Paul Millsap in the lineup, Gina Mizell of the Denver Post writes.
The Nuggets have stressed that they need to see Jokic exhibit more leadership qualities, his production on the floor, while impressive, no longer enough for a young team eager to claim its first playoff berth since 2013.
Mizell writes that Jokic came through this week, uncharacteristically speaking up to motivate a lethargic looking Nuggets roster one night and then showing off his mental toughness by returning to the court on an injured ankle the next time out.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Rookie Terrance Ferguson got his first taste of serious first-half action this weekend and didn’t shy away from the opportunity, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. The guard set a season high with 21 minutes played in the Thunder‘s Saturday night loss.
- While it may seem natural to dub Damian Lillard the Trail Blazers‘ closer, he’s not the only one capable of shouldering the offensive load down the stretch Casey Holdahl of Portland’s official team site writes. C.J. McCollum has earned his teammates’ trust, especially when he finds himself in a natural rhythm.
- Don’t expect Al-Farouq Aminu back in the lineup for the Trail Blazers any time soon, Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest tweets. There was initial hope that the forward would be back in action during the team’s five-game road trip but that won’t be the case.
Northwest Notes: McCollum, Wolves, Sefolosha
In a conversation with TNT’s David Aldridge at NBA.com, Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum discussed his club’s performance so far, his shoe deal with Li Ning, Jusuf Nurkic‘s impact on the Blazers, and several other topics. Among those topics? Portland’s relatively quiet offseason. While McCollum has confidence in the Blazers’ core group, he acknowledged to Aldridge that he did make an effort to recruit Carmelo Anthony when the All-Star forward was on the trade block.
“I mean, I figured why not? Why not recruit someone you think can help your team?” McCollum said. “I just told him the truth. … I told him one time how he could help [the Trail Blazers], and that was basically the end of it. I felt like when someone’s a free agent and you know them and you’re around them, you need to share how you think they can help you and how you think you can help them. They have the right to make their own decision, and I think he’s happy where he’s at, and I wish him the best except when they play us.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- After making a series of veteran additions in the offseason, the Timberwolves entered the 2017/18 campaign with the ninth-oldest roster in the NBA. So far, in the view of Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune, that veteran leadership has paid major dividends in Minnesota. Souhan refers to the roster as not only the best in franchise history, but “the most mature.”
- Speaking of veteran leadership, the Jazz feel like they’re benefiting from the presence of free agent signee Thabo Sefolosha, with coaches and teammates alike referring to the swingman has a strong leader. “Leadership is something that can’t be forced,” head coach Quin Snyder said, per Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. “I think people have to want to follow you. You have to be able to lead them a direction that’s productive and [Sefolosha’s] experience and intelligence allow him to.”
- After playing just 165 total minutes in his rookie season, Malik Beasley has been a more regular part of the Nuggets‘ rotation early this season. As Gina Mizell of The Denver Post details, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone likes the confidence and aggressiveness he’s seeing from 2016’s 19th overall pick.
C.J. McCollum Suspended For One Game
The NBA has suspended Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum for one game without pay for leaving the bench during an altercation during a preseason contest, the league announced today in a press release. The incident took place during Wednesday’s game in Phoenix.
The Trail Blazers are scheduled to return to Phoenix to play the Suns on Wednesday in their first game of the season, so McCollum will be ineligible to appear in that contest. McCollum’s season will begin next Friday in Indiana against the Pacers.
The suspension will cost McCollum $165K in salary, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Trail Blazers Notes: Turner, Morrow, McCollum
If preseason is any indication thus far, the Trail Blazers may benefit more from Evan Turner‘s versatility this year, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes.. The point forward brought the ball up the court off the jump in the club’s first exhibition game of the year.
“One of the things is to take advantage of his ball handling and make it a little less taxing for Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum,” head coach Terry Stotts said. “That’s something we want to do better this year than we did last year.”
Turner was heralded for his versatility and ability to handle the ball coming out of Ohio State but has settled into a role as an NBA swingman. If he can get comfortable initiating the team’s offense as a playmaker, it frees the club’s star backcourt up to work off the ball.
“When it comes down to it you got two sharpshooters,” Turner said. “When I have to run the offense I’m passing to two of the better shooters in the world. So, of course, it makes it a tad bit easier and opens things up.”
There’s more Trail Blazers news:
- It seems likely that Anthony Morrow will make the team, Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest writes. The 32-year-old has demonstrated his ability to fill the net from beyond the arc through preseason, a coveted skill for any franchise.
- The Blazers were happy to rid themselves of Allen Crabbe‘s contract but the forward was one of their third best three-point shooters. Reserve point guards Pat Connaughton and Shabazz Napier are first in line to inherit Crabbe’s previous role, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes.
- Guard C.J. McCollum has announced a partnership with Chinese shoe company Li-Ning, the 26-year-old announced on Instagram. The company has previously had partnerships with Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal.
Northwest Notes: Anthony, Georges-Hunt, Christon
While the Rockets remain Carmelo Anthony‘s supposed primary destination, the Trail Blazers have done well to establish themselves as a suitable alternative, Cody Sharrett of the team’s official site writes.
Sharrett cites comments made by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in a recent radio interview (~25:00 mark), suggesting the Trail Blazers could, theoretically at least, be a good landing spot for the veteran.
“The [Trail Blazers] are an interesting team in this because C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard have done a really good of recruiting Carmelo,” Wojnarowkski said. “They’ve been on him.”
The scribe notes that Anthony’s feelings about McCollum, Lillard or the Trail Blazers are ultimately inconsequential if the club can’t put together a package of assets that appeals to the Knicks.
“But if they could, then the [Trail Blazers] are a sleeper team in this to get Carmelo to waive his no-trade because I’m told they’ve piqued Carmelo’s interest at the very least,” Wojnarowski added.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder are said to have had talks with undrafted free agent Brad Wanamaker, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports. The 28-year-old guard is currently under contract with David Blatt‘s Turkish league club.
- Recently signed Timberwolves guard Marcus Georges-Hunt has the same contract as if he were claimed off of waivers, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets. Georges-Hunt was waived by the Magic on July 31. It’s a possibility that he sticks on the roster through to the regular season.
- Sportswriters that cover the Thunder are torn as to whether or not Semaj Christon will remain with the team come opening day. Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman, who says ‘Nay’, thinks Christon will be the odd man out after the club re-committed to Nick Collison.
Rockets, Knicks Re-Engage On Melo Talks
The Knicks and Rockets have re-engaged on trade talks regarding Carmelo Anthony, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports. The Rockets are yet again searching for a third team to facilitate the deal.
The Knicks and Rockets made significant progress on a deal when Phil Jackson was in charge, but New York’s new GM Scott Perry has been more particular about the package he’d want in return for Anthony. A deal directly between the two sides remains unlikely as New York does not have an interest in bringing back Ryan Anderson.
Anthony remains determined to go to Houston, as he refuses to expand the list of teams in which he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause for, according to Wojnarowski.
The Pelicans, Blazers, and Thunder are among the teams which have expressed interest in adding the 10-time All-Star. However, Anthony has reportedly been uninterested in joining any of those squads. Portland remains interested in acquiring Anthony should he change his mind. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum continue to recruit Anthony with the hopes that he will change his stance on coming to the Northwest, Wojnarowski adds.
Anthony had previously expressed willingness to waive his NTC to join LeBron James in Cleveland, though Kyrie Irving‘s situation and LBJ’s uncertain future have dulled his enthusiasm for the Cavs.
New York has no problem bringing Anthony to training camp and Woj hears that Anthony beginning the season in a Knicks’ uniform remains a real possibility.
Blazers’ Stars Recruiting Carmelo Anthony
The Blazers had interest in acquiring Carmelo Anthony, but the 10-time All-Star reportedly won’t consider waiving his no-trade clause to come to last season’s eighth seed in the Western Conference. Still, that hasn’t stopped Portland’s stars from attempting to change the small forward’s mind, as Jason Quick of Comcast Sportsnet relays.
“I spoke to him,’’ Damian Lillard said of Anthony. “Because obviously he makes us a better team. So obviously with that being out there and being a real possibility, I don’t see why I wouldn’t reach out to him and let him know the interest is mutual if he is interested in us.’’
Lillard added that he wasn’t going to share Anthony’s response, though he said the two needed to speak because bringing the 32-year-old to Portland was something that he and C.J. McCollum would welcome should the opportunity present itself.
McCollum said he spoke to Anthony through a trainer the two share. The shooting guard added that he’ll be in New York this week to train and he will “say hello to [Anthony] if he’s there.”
“If we get him … when we get him … I think we could be top three in the West, easy,’’ McCollum said. “I think he’s interested. Obviously, I feel he wants to play with his team – the Banana Boat friends. I know he wants to play with CP [Chris Paul] and LeBron, and those are good options, but I feel we are a good option.’’
Anthony is reportedly focused on getting to the Rockets and Houston believes they will end up adding him in an offseason where they’ve already Paul. The Knicks and Rockets were looking for other teams to help facilitate a trade and the Blazers were apparently one of those franchises. However, Portland doesn’t want to help Anthony get to a rival Western Conference team, as the organization believes Anthony could be the missing piece to elevate the team into the West’s upper echelon.
Lillard was hoping to convince Anthony of just that, along with assuring him that he’s wanted on the team.
“He’s Carmelo Anthony,’’ Lillard said. “You add another guy who can score 50. Over the last decade, he’s been one of best players in the league. Playing against him he’s a cerebral player. He’s smart. He played in the triangle. I can only imagine what it would be like to have him isolating on one side, and CJ in the corner, and me in opposite wing and Nurk on the opposite … I could only imagine how tough it would be to guard us.
“I want to win a championship. It’s that simple. After my rookie year I’ve been in the playoffs every year and the playoffs are fun … but at this point we need a breakthrough. I’m tired of watching … each year it bothers me more.’’