The NBA’s trade deadline is less than 24 hours away with teams scrambling for that last-minute pick up to improve their roster. The Portland Trail Blazers may be one of those teams looking to get better, but CJ McCollum will not be part of any trade package.
According to Joe Freeman of the The Oregonian/OregonLive, “McCollum is not — and never will be — going anywhere, even though his name has been attached to rumors involving Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That stance echoes past comments from Olshey, who has labeled his dynamic shooting guard off limits to interested parties.”
The Blazers are currently in seventh place in the tough Western Conference competing for another playoff spot behind one of the best backcourts in the league. Damian Lillard may be the only All-Star between the two, but McCollum is practically an All-Star-type player. He just didn’t make the cut because of the numbers game limiting the Western Conference team to just 12 players.
McCollum has been one of the best shooting guards in the league the past few years, averaging 20+ points and more than 40% shooting from the 3-point line since the 2015-16 season. This year, he’s averaging 21.8 points and recently just recorded his career-high of 50 against the Chicago Bulls. He also scored a franchise-record 28 points in the first quarter alone.
He and Lillard are great players who need a bit of help. With the emergence of Jusuf Nurkic last year, the Blazers are only a key player or two away from going deeper into the playoffs than in the past.
But don’t expect McCollum to be part of any trade chatter in the next few hours.
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