Portland Trail Blazers: Making a case for Paul George

Portland Trail Blazers: You must give in order to receive

Following the announcement of George’s intention to leave the Pacers, the Blazers would have to put forward an attractive trade offer. In this particular situation, the Blazers should only consider two players untouchable:

Damian Lillard, and…Jusuf Nurkic. Some of you may be surprised. Most of you are not.

More from Portland Trail Blazers

• Damian Lillard needs just two words to dismantle a Blazers fan’s hot take
• NBA Rumors: Stalled trade talks may lead to Blazers, 76ers keeping stars
• The NBA’s strong message to Lillard clears path for a major trade
• NBA Trades: Is this the deal that finally sends Damian Lillard to Miami?
• 5 players who will challenge Victor Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year

The foundation of this article is built on pairing Lillard with Paul George, not C.J. McCollum. While it’d be sentimentally great if the Blazers could acquire George without breaking up their core backcourt, McCollum would be the most attractive bargaining chip available.

And let’s face it — the Blazers won’t make it to the next level with a starting backcourt that can’t play perimeter defense.

According to NBA.com, the Blazers ranked 25th in opponent points scored in the regular season, allowing 108.5 points per game. While their overall team defense was middle-of-the-pack at best, part of the reason why the Blazers’ defense suffers is because they ranked 27th in opponent three-point percentage, allowing teams to shoot 37.0 percent from behind the arc.

Taking a closer look at opponents’ three-point percentage: opponents shot 37.8 percent from three with McCollum on the floor. When McCollum was off the floor, opponents were held to 35.2 percent from three.

Paul George, on the other hand, held opponents to 35.7 percent from three this past season.