Blazers GM: Lillard, McCollum are 'untradable'
The Portland Trail Blazers won't have the financial flexibility this summer to be major free-agent players, so any growth will have to come either internally or through trades.
Two names you won't be seeing tossed around in any trade rumors, though, comprise Portland's starting backcourt: Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Blazers general manager Neil Olshey has a ton of money locked into his guards, and rightfully so.
Simply put, Lillard and McCollum won't be departing Rip City anytime soon.
"The odds of anything ever coming up of commensurate value is so hard to even fathom. I could give you the trite answer that nobody is untradable, but clearly they are," Olshey told the media Tuesday, according to The Oregonian's Mike Richman.
Lillard's gargantuan five-year, $120-million extension kicked in this season, and will keep him in Portland through the 2020-21 campaign. He led the Blazers in scoring during their opening-round sweep by the Golden State Warriors, averaging 27.8 points, 4.5 boards, and 3.3 assists over the four games, although his shooting numbers (43.3 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from 3-point range) left a lot to be desired.
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McCollum, on the other end, will have his extension go into effect next year at $106.6 million over four years. The 25-year-old also struggled shooting the rock against Golden State (40 percent from the field), but was far more efficient from distance (50 percent).
He averaged career highs in points (23) and rebounds (3.6) in 80 regular-season appearances.