With the Miami Heat in search of another star and drama in the northwest surrounding Portland Trail-Blazers superstar, Damian Lillard, things have gotten pretty interesting when it comes to the Miami Heat’s potential options this offseason. Among other things, the NBA’s third-leading scorer and the six-time All-Star has, potentially, begun to hint at his frustrations regarding the team’s direction.
Lillard, who was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft, has spent his entire eight-year career with the Blazers. In fact, he is just over 1200 points away from surpassing Clyde Drexler as the franchise’s all-time scoring leader.
Lillard’s growth into one of the league’s premier offensive threats and clutch scorers has been enormous. He’s second only to Steph Curry, ever, with his range-shooting.
It’s for certain that he would hold an immediate impact in the Heat’s lineup and regardless of what they need to give up for him, Lillard makes the Heat a top-three team in the Eastern Conference. That would also inevitably open the door for another potential title run or several.
However, with all the attention that Lillard has garnered, there may be another expendable option in Portland. What about their secondary scorer, CJ McCollum?
The Miami Heat Need another guy and Damian Lillard may come available, but that would also mean that CJ McCollum isn’t that far behind.
In 47 games, McCollum averaged 23.1 points and 4.7 assists, on nearly 46 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Despite not having the deep-range shooting and the sheer athleticism of Lillard, McCollum can still carry an offense just as prominently as his backcourt partner and has mastered the ability to create offense within his own means.
With strong tendencies to operate in the in-between with runners, leaners, and floaters, McCollum can get to wherever spot he needs to on the floor, therewithal having one of the deadliest mid-range jumpers in the league. His pump-fakes coming in transition are lethal and the Heat have witnessed it first hand, as McCollum scored 35 points in a Blazers win on March 25th.
However, a few recent postseason lapses have shone a, somewhat, negative light on McCollum. An ignition was during this year’s first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, where McCollum committed a critical out-of-bounds turnover in the final moments of Game 5, with the Nuggets taking a 3-2 series lead at home.
Many believe McCollum’s recent playoff shortcomings have caused teams to lose interest in potentially trading for him. As he’s set to make over $30 million through the 2023-34 season — albeit never being voted as an All-Star — the Heat shouldn’t fall from being an exception to pursue the seven-year guard.
Like his teammate Lillard and though a bit differently in execution, McCollum could still alleviate the Heat’s offensive struggles and while he is a below-average defender, the Heat would still be able to defend well enough by having All-NBA defenders in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo taking on the challenge of making it happen.
It’s only a matter of time before the chips begin to fall in Portland. With the possibility of Lillard forcing his way out of Portland, that would mean an immediate restart and McCollum then becomes expendable in return for younger players and expiring contracts.
Nonetheless, if Portland chooses to keep their core, with newly-signed head coach Chauncey Billups now at the helm, it could be more difficult for the Heat to trade for McCollum unless multiple picks are involved.
However, this doesn’t mean that the Heat shouldn’t at least pick-up the phone. Outside of their second-year guard Tyler Herro, it’s clear that Miami currently lacks valuable trade-assets in comparison to other suitors but for a Blazers team struggling financially to build a winning-team around their backcourt stars, it’s only reasonable to see Portland call it quits this summer after repeatedly failing to come out of the Western Conference.
Whether Portland keeps Lillard (and most of their roster) this summer or not, there isn’t a better time for Miami to explore their options. To pry McCollum though, the best deal Miami could offer along with Herro, is to include the team options of Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala, along with either one or both of Precious Achiuwa or KZ Okpala.
This reduces the pressure of overpaying and retaining another elite sharpshooter in Duncan Robinson, who could be looking to sign between $20-25 million in restricted free agency. It’s going to be a top-priority for the Heat to find another dynamic scorer this summer and one that will give a new direction to their offense — especially during half-court sets.
McCollum easily fits that bill, as he’s an underrated pick-and-roll artist, can draw double-teams, and can become a secondary ball-handler when needed. A player who’s at the absolute peak of his career and has appeared in over fifty postseason games, C.J should rank at or near the top of Miami’s list.