Wanting to get a bit of discussion going.
From the perspective of my TrailBlazers, we felt as if it was time to let McCollum go. His $100m extension over 3 years is gaudy, and we believe Buddy Hield will be able to provide almost all McCollum can. They have different strengths, but I rate them equally. Hield's average salary over the next 4 years is about $10m/year lower than CJ's. Hield is also, in my book, underrated. Neither he nor McCollum are good defenders - if anything, I think Hield is slightly better as he's stronger.
However, on offence, I love Hield's fit next to Dame. Hield is a top-5 shooter in the NBA, shooting roughly 10 3's a game at 40%. I think him next to Dame makes them the equal of the Splash Brothers when it comes to shooting. Using their 2019-20 stats, they combined for 7.7 3PM a game on 19.6 3PA a game. That's a hair lower than the Splash Brothers, and I believe with the elite floor-spreading the two will give each other they will shoot even better.
Klay Thompson's 3P% dropped from 44.5% (with Curry on the floor) to 38.7% (with Curry off the floor) from 2014-15 to 2018-19. I think similar things will happen with Dame and Buddy.
Further, I love the selection of Avdija. To me, he is a top-7 talent, and we got him at 14. I think he'll end up as a blend between Portland Batum and Detlef Schrempf. We also foresee Nurk returning to his pre-injury form, and he was on the verge of returning before COVID struck. We're big fans of Jalen Smith as a back-up center for the immediate time being, as he is a strong athletic big who can stretch the floor and protect the rim.
Get ready for an immensely powerful Portland offence!