Blazers Should Move On (and Maybe the Cavs Don't Have To)

First, this:

Make Cleveland throw in an additional future first-rounder, maybe a second-rounder or two also. The Blazers take on Hill's contract for the next two seasons to make the numbers work, or maybe they flip Hill for future draft picks if anyone else is willing to pay him. Or he could serve in a "mentorship" role for Collin Sexton, Wade Baldwin IV, Anfernee Simons, and Gary Trent Jr.

Don't tell me the Blazers haven't already seriously considered moving Lillard after they just drafted two guards. Lillard is soon-to-be 28. The Warriors aren't going anywhere.

Moving your franchise cornerstone isn't the easy thing to do. Not moving him, however, almost assures the Blazers of perpetually wallowing as a middle seed in the playoffs, hoping for a whiff of the second round, with little chance of advancing further.

And so it would continue until Lillard is past his prime, and then it's really time to rebuild. Only the Blazers would have to start from scratch with fewer trade chips to speed up the process.

As for Cleveland, they keep Love, get Lillard, and it's enough to convince LeBron to stay in town. A Cavs team with LeBron, Lillard, and Love just might be able to take out the Warriors (and make it past the Celtics and 76ers.) With three superstars in place, maybe the Cavs can also convince someone like Rudy Gay to sign for the veteran's minimum to fill out the wings. Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. as athletic bigs will do.

I think a perfect world for LeBron is one where the Cavs somehow manage to acquire more talent (and this Portland trade seems like one of the only ways they might do that) and he stays in Cleveland. There's not a lot of great alternatives if he's looking to win another championship next season. A super team of Lakers formed in one free agency season seems like a pipe dream. Joining a group of 76ers that are a generation younger than LeBron seems like an odd fit. Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston seem too ball-dominant for all three to co-exist.

It's a trade that gives both sides what they need. But the Blazers aren't done.

With the timeline for success moved back, it doesn't make much sense to hang on to soon-to-be-27 C.J. McCollum either.

So, second, this:

Or this:

The numbers on these trades don't work (the Bucks would also need to throw in some draft picks to even things out.) And maybe these deals leave Portland with far too many guards. But that's not what I'm here to figure out.

The point is, similar to my article advocating blowing up the Cavs (and I realize I'm sort of contradicting myself, but that's why these are hypotheticals), there's no reason a competent Blazers front office shouldn't be able to flip Lillard and McCollum for a wealth of young talent to combine with Zach Collins and their other young players. Then in two years, the contracts of Evan Turner, Moe Harkless, and Meyers Lemon will have expired and the Blazers will have all sorts of cash to throw at free agents.

Losing a star backcourt hurts, but fan interest would remain relatively high with lots of promising players that could at least be competitive in most games. That, and a brighter future than the one the team currently enjoys, with part of that bright future another lottery pick in 2019.

Oh great, starting over again, right Blazer fans? Selling us again on hope and optimism, Blazers marketing department? Fuck off!

But if the end goal is a championship, it's the only real option. The Warriors, and the era of the super team, have made it so. Go big, or blow it up. There is no impending salary cap space with which the Blazers can try and go big.

Think standing pat, staying the course, will yield championship results? Come back in a couple years and ask the Raptors how that went. Even teams like the Bucks -- full of young, talented players who have not been together nearly as long as this Blazers team -- will have big decisions to make in the coming year about whether their core will be enough to compete for titles against the juggernauts that exist in the current NBA.

If this was 2006, maybe Steve Patterson says to Kevin Pritchard, "You know, I think if we re-sign Nurkic, this roster has a shot against Dallas and Dirk, or Miami and D Wade."

But no one in their right mind is thinking the Blazers are on the cusp of knocking off the Warriors, the Rockets, or a fully healthy Celtics team, or even a 76ers team that's a year older. Or the Jazz, for that matter. Or that New Orleans team that just swept them away sans DeMarcus Cousins. The Nuggets are looking pretty spicy too.

The Timberwolves. The Spurs. The list goes on.

It's a cold-hearted reality, because Lillard and McCollum are fantastic players on and off the court, and incredibly fun to watch. Farewells are no fun.

But it's time for the Blazers to kick back and watch the wave of Warriors dominance crest and fizzle out. It's time to chill on the warm, sandy beach of player development until it's safe to swim again. It's time to move on.

Lillard, go win one with The King.