Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers finished eighth in the Western Conference with a .500 record of 41-41. Led by point guard Damian Lillard, shooting guard C.J. McCollum and center Jusuf Nurkic, Portland then went on to get swept in the opening round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors, ending their quest towards a Larry O’Brien Trophy.

But, it appears as though Lillard doesn’t think the team is far away from contending for a title, under one contingency: the Blazers landing Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks.

In fact, per Drew Shiller of CSNBayArea.com, Lillard wished the Warriors “good luck” if Melo is added to their core.

"He's Carmelo Anthony," Lillard explained. "You add another guy that can go out there and score 50 ... over the last decade, he's been one of the best players in the league. Playing against him, you know he's a cerebral player. He's smart.”

Lillard continued, ”I can only imagine what it would be like having him iso'ing on one side, and C.J. in a corner, and me on the opposite wing and Nurk (Jusuf Nurkic) ... I can only imagine how hard it would be to guard us when it's already hard to guard us.”

In the grand scheme of things, the point guard thinks that adding Anthony would put them over the hump.

"We can compete with anybody in the West, but I think when you get to those teams like Golden State, if we happen to run into them in a playoff situation now -- we getting in the paint, and if they want to help off someone like Melo ... good luck.”

Warriors forward and Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green was quick to respond to Lillard’s comments, dismissing them as crazy talk.

That certainly will add some fuel to the fire when the two teams square off next season.

While Lillard and McCollum have publicly stated that they’d love to see Melo in Portland, there has been no official word confirming Anthony’s interest. Therefore, the Blazers are still ready to fight in the packed West, with or without the addition of the elite scorer.

"If our roster is as is right now, then I'm going to go out there and go to war how we are," Lillard told Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. "I'm going to go out there believing that we can get it done regardless of what the roster says. I'm going to believe that and I can say that because I truly believe it in my heart that we can go out there and get it done. But I know (adding talent) gives us a better chance. You have the best teams out there trying to improve their roster, so I think we should be trying to do the same. And I think we are.”

If Melo creates yet another "Big Four" in the West, it will add another layer to what should be a wild ride in the 2017-2018 NBA season.