The Portland Trail Blazers are patching things up after a fallout in the offseason and one player is starting to shine in guard C.J. McCollum, whose emerging prominence has linked him to a number of trade rumors.
But The Inquisitr mentioned in its report that the Blazers are unlikely to deal away McCollum as the deadline (Feb. 18) approaches.
McCollum is playing the best basketball in his young National Basketball Association (NBA) career this 2015–16 regular season.
The departure of former starters guard Wesley Matthews (signed with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency) and forward Nicolas Batum (traded to the Charlotte Hornes) paved the way for McCollum to get significant playing minutes.
Currently, McCollum has played and started in all 47 of Portland's regular season games, averaging 20.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals in 35 minutes played per contest.
Aside from the boost in his production, the 24-year-old's playing minutes in his third season in the NBA are also notable. In his first season, he was averaging only 12.5 minutes per game, which increased a bit to 15.7 minutes in his second season.
According to The Inquisitr, McCollum's improved game and playing alongside Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard also made the former All-Star better.
Lillard is averaging career-bests in scoring (24.2) and assists (7.1) this season, also having an increase in minutes from 35.7 minutes last season to 36 minutes per game this season.
It is likely that McCollum will receive the NBA's Most Improved Player award because of his impressive leap from a bench player to an efficient starter.
Unfortunately, his backcourt partner Lillard was again snubbed for the 2016 All-Star Game, second season in a row.
Despite that, the Blazers are beginning to show that they are playoff contenders, currently on the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings with a 23–26 record, also riding a four-game winning streak.
