McCallum opens up about Portland’s next season move.
Damian Lillard (188cm, G) is a franchise star representing the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard, who made his debut in the 2012-2013 season, has only played in Portland so far.메이저놀이터
From his debut season, he averaged 19 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds, and was considered the team’s future. From his second year, he was selected as an All-Star, and since then he has shown growth every season and has lived up to the expectations of the team.
However, apart from Lillard’s performance, Portland did not make a big achievement. He reached the conference finals in the 2018-2019 season, but struggled otherwise. In particular, it was too big to be caught by the Golden State Warriors, who dominated the league at the time.
Also, the role of players to help Lillard was lacking. CJ McCallum (190cm, G) matched Lillard for 9 seasons, but the defensive weaknesses of the two players were highlighted and this became Portland’s weakness. The third option, Youssef Nurkic (213cm, C), was not free from injuries.
Then, Portland traded McCallum during the 2021-2022 season and went into ‘retooling’. But after a season, Portland’s retooling failed. This season, Lillard posted career highs of 32.2 points, 7.3 assists and four rebounds, but the team finished the season in 13th place in the West with a 33-49 record.
Although he got the 3rd pick in the 2023-2024 NBA draft, the future is still uncertain. Recently, there is a story that he is going to reinforce his power through the third pick and a promising player in the team.
In this situation, McCallum, who played in Portland in the past, opened his mouth. McCollum appeared on the ‘Ryan Rossillow Podcast’ and said, “I’ve heard that Lillard wants a power boost. But that will be decided by the NBA market. If Portland doesn’t get what they want, he could go against Lillard’s idea.”
Meanwhile, Lillard has also been mired in trade rumors. If Portland doesn’t comply with Lillard’s demands, the few franchise stars in the league could move teams. It is this off-season that pays attention to how Portland and Lillard will do.
