Los Angeles Lakers: 3 potential blockbuster draft-day trades in 2017

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Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

It’s not often that a player averages 27.0 points, 5.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds over the course of a season and misses out on All-Star selection. But such was the case with Lillard, who was again overlooked by the coaches in an absolutely loaded Western Conference backcourt.

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The Blazers’ starting point since entering the league in 2012, Lillard once again led Portland into the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. But after leading the Blazers to back-to-back 50-plus win season’s, the Blazers have dropped back to 44 and 41 wins over the last two seasons.

The main knock on Lillard, and the Blazers for that matter, has been their inability to perform at the defensive end of the court. So while Lillard will never be confused for Gary Payton, he is simply elite at the offensive end.

This season, the Blazers had an offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 110.1 when he was on the floor, and just 102.9 when he was resting. Over his 75 games this season, Lillard had five games of 40 or more points, which included two games of nine three-pointers made.

To illustrate Lillard’s importance to the Blazers, Portland had a 9-2 record over the season when Lillard scored 36 points or more. His preeminent game this season was a 59 point explosion against the Utah Jazz, the team with the third-best defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) this season at 102.7. Scoring 59 of the Blazers’ 101 points, Lilllard shot 18-of-34 from the field, 9-of-14 from behind three and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line.

You could name on one hand the amount of players in the league capable of putting together a performance such as this, which included 26 points in the first quarter alone.

Therefore, putting together a package to suffice the Blazers is going to take some work. Having somewhat regressed the last two seasons, the Blazers will be under no illusions that they will need to make some moves this offseason. Whether that is adding some pieces to their current roster, or breaking it down and starting from scratch remains to be seen.

While this deal involves giving up their best player, the Blazers would still remain a more than competitive team, both in the present and the future.

On the Lakers’ behalf, this delivers them a legitimate star who is still just 26 and has the prime of his career ahead of him. Maurice Harkless, meanwhile, is coming off a career-best season averaging 10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. At 6’9″, and with the ability to alternate between the 3- and 4-spots, the 24-year-old Harkless’ athleticism would be a tremendous fit under Walton’s system.

For the Blazers, this provides them with the chance to address their long-standing problem of executing on the defensive end of the court. As touched upon earlier, this remains a significant area of concern for Lillard. A midseason piece from Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post touched upon the dilemma facing the Blazers moving forward. Among other things, Bontemps noted:

"“Because of where the Blazers played Wednesday night (Golden State Warriors), it’s not hard to see the similarities in a problem the Warriors once faced when choosing between Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis in 2012….Trying to build a defensive team around a defensively deficient pairing of Lillard and (C.J.)McCollum requires more intensity from the other positions on the court.”"

While all the blame can’t be placed on Lillard, the Blazers as a whole remain substandard defensively. This season they ranked 21st with a defensive rating of 107.8, and 25th for opponent points per game at 108.5 per game. Over the season, the Blazers compiled an 0-10 record in games where they gave up at least 125 points to the opposition.

This deal would also allow the Blazers to place the ball more in the hands of guard C.J. McCollum. Last season, McCollum had 10 games where he registered six or more assists. Playing alongside Jordan Clarkson, himself a capable ball handler, can create a new and interesting wrinkle for the Blazers.

In addition to adding another frontcourt bruiser like Julius Randle, the move would allow the team to think laterally, and not necessarily lock down Lonzo Ball will the selection. As such, the No. 2 pick would be utilized on a player such as Duke’s Jason Tatum or Kansas’ Josh Jackson.

In order to clear room in their rotation, the Blazers could do worse than attempt a salary dump with the Brooklyn Nets with a player such as Allen Crabbe, whom the Nets signed to an offer sheet last offseason. This would be done by attaching one of the Blazers’ three other current first round selections in order to sweeten the deal.

Furthermore, this provides them with the rare chance to own a high-end lottery pick. Since general manger Neil Olshey assumed the reins in 2012, just three draft picks under his watch remain on the roster – Lillard (No. 6 in 2012), Meyers Leonard (No. 11 in 2012) and McCollum (No. 10 in 2013). The highest pick over the last three seasons was Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (No. 23 in 2015) who was subsequently dealt away on draft night.