Former teammate Richard Jefferson threw the idea out there on ESPN and everyone thinks LeBron would be absurd to join the Blazers but from a basketball standpoint it would be a seamless fit. After a game this past regular season LeBron complimented Damian Lillard and was in awe of how great he has become. Damian Lillard has been anchoring the Blazers’s franchise
his whole career and has already met with management to see what direction the team plans on taking going forward. After the meeting the Blazers caught lightning in a bottle in the second half and stormed up the Western Conference standings and finished as the 3rd seed in the West.
Unfortunately their second half surge and Damian Lillard’s MVP caliber season was put to a stop by the New Orleans Pelicans who shocked everyone in the 1st round of the playoffs sweeping the Blazers in 4 games. Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo hounded CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard all 4 games and kept both at bay leaving the Blazers with no answer. Terry Stotts is a phenomenal coach and you could say he should have game planned better and made adjustments but when your offense heavily relies on your back court to carry you defenses will not have a tough time game planning against you. Nothing against CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard who are both two of the top 10 guards in the NBA, elite floor spacers and both guards who can get scorching hot from the perimeter and drop 50 if needed but they also both lack athleticism and length.
Back to LeBron James who has been rumored to want to play more off the ball as he has logged more minutes than just about any superstar in the history of the NBA, the Blazers would be the ideal fit. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are both floor spacers and kick out options for LeBron and do not need to be set up to score which is a lot of what LeBron has to do for his teammates in Cleveland right now(Love,Korver,JR Smith). Kyle Korver,JR Smith, and Kevin Love are not the perimeter scorers CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard are who are two elite guards in the prime of their respective careers. Who saw LeBron going to Miami until The Decision? Who saw him going back to Cleveland after Dan Gilbert wrote a letter that left most believing the bridge was broken? No one, LeBron’s most possible destinations are said to be the Sixers,Rockets,and Lakers but do not count out the Trailblazers.
Damian Lillard was elite this past season and named to the All-NBA First team, he would make the perfect sidekick to LeBron James a lot like Kyrie Irving was for LeBron James. Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard have very similar skillsets with Kyrie being more of a creative ball-handler and finisher at the basket, but you could make the case Damian Lillard is the better perimeter shooter, certainly better as a spot up shooters or in catch and shoot situations. Add on CJ McCollum who has also displayed the ability to be a high level scorer, he can attack the basket and finish at the rim with lay-ups,floaters, and get his shot off on his defender with ease. Of course you can make the case Philadelphia would be a better situation being that Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are generational talents and possess a lot higher ceilings than both CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. It’s a tossup if you ask me, if the Blazers bring in Lebron maybe they can find a way to bring in DeAndre Jordan as well and the Blazers could put out a lineup of Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum-LeBron James-Collins-Jordan which could combat the Warriors and Rockets for the West crown next season. LeBron said he wanted to play with DeAndre so maybe if the Blazers bring in Jordan first LeBron might just sign with Portland.
D-NBA 