Blazers’ C.J. McCollum trade reminds of Warriors’ unique greatness

For nearly a decade, the Portland Trail Blazers wanted what the Golden State Warriors already had.

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum worked desperately to challenge Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in their quest to become the NBA’s best backcourt, but there’s been no answer for the league’s gold standard.

Quite frankly, Lillard and McCollum never came close.

Two days ahead of the NBA trade deadline, the Blazers aborted the mission as Portland is reportedly trading McCollum, Larry Nance and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans for a package that will include a protected first round draft pick and help create more than $60 million in cap space.

ESPN is reporting the Blazers want to “fully reshape” their roster around Lillard, but the reality is that Portland simply needs a new roster-building strategy if it hopes to take on the Western Conference’s elite teams, which — after a brief hiatus — again include the Warriors.

As history has shown, a Portland team led by a pair of guards who annually average more than 20 points per game was still no match for the Warriors’ Splash Brothers.

In each of the eight seasons since the Blazers drafted McCollum to play alongside Lillard, the Blazers made the playoffs. The results once Portland arrived in the postseason were ugly, as the Blazers were bounced five times in the first round, twice in the Western Conference Semifinals and once in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, when the Warriors swept them in dominating fashion.

Lillard and McCollum combined to win six conference semifinals games and zero conference finals games in nine seasons together. With this season’s hopes rapidly evaporating, Portland finally caved.

Warriors fans have never needed a reminder to properly appreciate the transcendent 3-point shooters in the team’s backcourt, but Tuesday’s trade and Thompson’ recent return from a two-plus year injury absence is the latest testament to how rare a pairing like theirs is in professional sports.

“I think obviously the shooting for both of them makes their jobs easier,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in January. “They each make the other one better by being such a threat and drawing so much attention. Then I think it’s really important that they have the continuity that they have together.”

It’s been seven years since Curry and Thompson made their first All-Star team together and in that time, nearly every NBA team has been forced to recalibrate its roster in an effort to compete with Golden State. During that timespan, most of the league’s top guards have also bounced from team-to-team in an effort to find a fit where they could legitimately take on a Warriors team that thrived thanks to the combination of stability and star power.

“(Steph) has been an incredible role model for me,” Thompson said shortly following his return to the court this year. “An even better leader. We’ve had such a great history together as far as playing for championships or USA Team, or just growing our friendship, and it felt natural again. Steph is one of the best to ever play, and it’s just an honor to be his two guard.”

In the decade Curry and Thompson have played alongside each other, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook have each played for four different franchises while James Harden and Kyrie Irving have played for three. Many teams such as the Wizards have tried to copy the Warriors’ model and build through the backcourt with John Wall and Bradley Beal, but that All-Star duo was broken up before ever reaching an Eastern Conference Finals.

Curry and Thompson couldn’t have won multiple titles together without leading contributions from Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and others, but in the last 10 years, no franchise has been able to replicate the success Golden State’s Hall of Fame backcourt has enjoyed.

The Blazers long held onto hope they could eventually outlast the Warriors, but on Tuesday, they became the latest domino to fall.

Even if the Warriors don’t win a title this year, they’ve returned to the championship contender tier — and they’ve done so once again with a backcourt every other franchise dreams about.