Pros and Cons of The Knicks Potentially Trading for CJ McCollum

From 2016 through 2021, McCollum averaged 22.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.6 made 3PT's per game... No Knick has ever averaged more than 20 PPG and more than 2.5 made 3PT's in a season

Well, guys, 'tis the season. We have reached Trade Deadline Week, which means we can expect plenty of intoxicating rumors to pop up over the next few days. 

And on Monday morning, we got our first hit off the trade-buzz blunt when Marc Stein reported in his latest Substack that two rival teams claimed the Knicks are emerging as a legitimate suitor for Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum. Later in the day, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said the Knicks were one of several teams that have been "fairly aggressive" in their pursuit of McCollum. 

After the Blazers traded away Norman Powell (and his recently inked extension) along with Robert Covington to the Clippers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and a second-round pick, it's not shocking to learn Portland is willing to make wholesale changes to their roster. 

Especially considering Portland has lost nine of their last ten games and find themselves 12 games below .500. New Orleans had been the team previously rumored to be seriously considering trading for McCollum, but Stein intimates that a deal sending him to New York is a now "real possibility."

So, the question is: Would such a move make sense of the Knicks.

Allow me to put on my Beer Goggles and take a Beer's Eye View, examining the positives and negatives of this potential deal.

Pros:

The crucial component in determining whether or not a swap would benefit the Knicks obviously depends on what New York would send to Portland. And, we'll get into that momentarily. But first, let's detail what McCollum would bring to the table.

After being drafted out of Lehigh (shoutout to the Patriot League!!), McCollum saw limited minutes off the Blazers bench over his first two years in the NBA. However, he kept working on his craft and seized an opportunity when it presented itself. Inserted into the starting lineup at the start of the 2015-16 campaign, McCollum went on to average 20.8 points, 3.2 boards and 4.3 assists per game on his way to winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award. 

McCollum has been stunningly consistent, effective and efficient ever since. Over the following five seasons, from 2016 through 2021, he averaged 22.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists (vs. just 1.8 turnovers) and 2.6 made three-pointers, while shooting 46% from the floor, over 39% from downtown and 84% from the free-throw-throw stripe. 

Over that stretch, McCollum was one of only five players to average at least 20/3/3/2 in each of the past five consecutive seasons. The other four were Stephen Curry, James Harden, Damian Lillard and Paul George. 

To put those numbers in perspective, no player in Knicks franchise history has averaged more than 20 points and more than 2.5 made treys in a single season. 

And from 2015 through 2020, McCollum was remarkably durable, appearing in 428 out of a possible 459 games (93%).

Last season, he started out the year on fire, averaging 28.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists over the first month of the 2020-21 campaign before being sidelined by a broken left foot. This season, even in a “down year” he’s putting up 20.5/4.5/4.5 a night and is one of just two players averaging at least three treys and one steal, yet fewer than two turnovers per game.

McCollum has also played well in big games throughout his career. He averaged over 25 PPG in the 2018 postseason. And during the Blazers' run to the Western Conference Finals in 2019, he averaged 24.7 points per game. In Game 7 of the West Semis, which was on the road in Denver, McCollum carried Portland to victory by pouring in a game-high 37 points (Dame Lillard was just 3-for-17 in that contest).

And although he'll celebrate his 31st birthday prior to the start of next season, McCollum's game has never been overly reliant on quickness or athleticism. His broad skill set is suited to excel in today's NBA, which places a remarkably high premium on long-range shooting. He is also someone who relentlessly works to address his weaknesses, as evidenced by the ways he's added to and improved his game since entering the league.

In addition to the on-court attributes, McCollum is respected league-wide as a consummate professional. This past summer, he was elected to succeed Chris Paul as president of the National Basketball Players Association. Having a player of McCollum's maturity and pedigree serve as a mentor to the Knicks youngsters, teaching them what it takes to succeed as a pro athlete both on and off the floor, would be of significant value. 

As I have stated frequently, New York's ideal path forward would be to focus on the future by trading away veterans in exchange for draft picks and/or young, promising players on team-friendly contracts. McCollum, obviously, doesn't check those boxes, but there is no denying that a player of his caliber would dramatically improve the Knicks' stagnant offense (which ranks 24th in the NBA this season). McCollum can create his own shot off the dribble - something New York has been sorely lacking - and can play on or off the ball.