Chicago Bulls: 4 star trade targets the team shouldn’t pass on in 20-21

3) Trade targets Chicago Bulls shouldn’t pass on in 20-21

One of the more difficult teams to figure out at this point of the regular season, prior to the turn of the calendar year, is the Portland Trail Blazers. The star guard pairing of point guard Damian Lillard and shooting guard CJ McCollum started to catch some doubt over the course of the last two seasons. And since the Trail Blazers haven’t made it to the NBA Finals with that core at hand, it makes sense that there’s some chatter about the future in Portland.

The 6-foot-3 and 190 pound 29-year-old former Lehigh shooting guard McCollum would definitely be the first on the move between the two Blazers star guards. Lillard is one of the premier backcourt superstars in the NBA today, and most would figure it would be easier for the Blazers to build around him over McCollum.

Still, the Bulls could very much change the dynamic of their starting backcourt if they wanted to invest in a McCollum trade. That would mean that Karnisovas and Eversley want to change the direction of this rebuild, likely instead of building a foundation around shooting guard Zach LaVine, but all options should be on the table at this point.

During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, McCollum played in 70 games with the Blazers (all of which he started in). And he averaged 22.2 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks. McCollum shot 45.1 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.7 percent from the free-throw line.

McCollum is off to a really hot start through three games played this season. He’s averaged 29.0 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks. And McCollum shot 43.7 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line.