After a nearly nine year career with the Trail Blazers, CJ McCollumn will be taking his talents to New Orleans to play with the Pelicans. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojanrowski, Portland will trade McCollumn as part of a seven-player deal. It’s a pivotal moment in the timeline of Trail Blazers history. Almost an entire decade was spent watching McCollumn and Lillard in the backcourt of Moda Center putting up ridiculous numbers, and experiencing ridiculous defeats.
Now the time has come for both the player and team to move on.
Here are more details to the trade via Wojnarowski: In addition to McCollumn, Portland will also send Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to New Orleans. The Pelicans will provide Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, a future first-round pick and two future second round selections. This deal plays right into general manager Joe Cronin’s vision for the next few years (or so we think).
Instead of dealing McCollumn for an equal or slightly greater star, he’s playing the long game to acquire draft capital for the off-season and attempt to make a splash move in free agency or the draft. It will be a delicate dance considering Damian Lillard’s recent injury and apparent decline. Cronin will need to find the perfect player or group of players to compliment and help Lillard achieve his ultimate goal; win an NBA Title.
Either way, it’s sad to see McCollumn go after so many years. He’s become a cultural staple in the area and despite his inconsistent play and injuries, he’ll still go down as one of the greater scorers in franchise history.
Compensation includes a package around Josh Hart, and draft picks
