The clock is ticking on a Ben Simmons trade. It’s not a question of if, but when and with Simmons himself pushing for it which could speed up the process. It certainly puts on public pressure for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ front office to make a deal.
Now it’s not like a guy like Daryl Morey, who is the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, to make a deal just because of public pressure. It’s no secret that the 76ers are aiming for a guy like Damian Lillard.
Lillard is the ideal player to target, but in reality, it may take more time for Lillard to ask out of Portland before than the Sixers have before this gets too ugly. Instead, the Sixers might have to go after the Blazers’ second best player in CJ McCollum.
McCollum has unrealized potential that the Philadelphia 76ers could tap into.
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At the beginning of the offseason when the Simmons’ rumor mill began to turn, I wasn’t a big fan of a McCollum trade. However, after having a full offseason to evaluate McCollum, it’s fair to say that playing with Lillard has stopped McCollum from reaching his full potential.
Don’t believe me, check out his highlights from this past season. He’s a three-level scorer, who can spot up, create off the dribble, and is clutch. It’s not just the eye test, according to statmuse, McCollum has averaged 28.1 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.7 turnovers, while making 45.8 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from the 3-point line whenever he doesn’t play with Lillard.
Those are All-Star level stats for sure and even this past season, he had a case for an All-Star appearance. He averaged 23.1 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 turnovers, while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 40.2 percent from deep.
McCollum would be the first starting point guard for the Sixers since Jrue Holiday who could consistently hit 3-pointers, which is extremely important with Joel Embiid on the roster. Offensively, Embiid and McCollum would be hard to beat offensively if a trade were to occur.
If McCollum was the primary perimeter option on offense and he was in charge of orchestrating the offense, then he’d be an All-Star, especially if he were on Philly’s roster. As Matty Breisch of Section 215 indicated in his article, McCollum isn’t a consolation player. He has the ability to be an All-Star if he’s in charge of the offense.
McCollum has the potential to be a number one perimeter scoring option and primary playmaker. If it appears that Lillard won’t become available at any point this season, then McCollum is the obvious choice as a trade target for the Philadelphia 76ers.