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It feels like ages ago since CJ McCollum made the move from the Portland Trail Blazers to join the New Orleans Pelicans. Right now, the 30-year-old has a great opportunity to help the Pels make their first playoff appearance in the post-Anthony Davis era. In the process, McCollum could also single-handedly sabotage Portland's plans for the future.
When the Blazers sent McCollum to the Pelicans, the deal involved a handful of other players and draft picks. One of them was New Orleans' 2022 first-rounder, which as it turns out, won't convey if McCollum and the Pelicans win their Play-In game against the Clippers on Friday. Brad Botkin of CBS provides the details:
The second lottery pick the Blazers potentially gained comes via the Pelicans, who sent back a protected 2022 first-rounder in the McCollum deal. Protected is the operative term. The New Orleans pick only conveys to Portland if it falls between No. 5 and 14 — the latter being the final lottery slot. If the Pelicans make the playoffs, which they are one play-in victory over the Clippers on Friday from doing, their 2022 pick will fall below the lottery line, to at least No. 15, which is a long way of saying the Blazers won't get it.
Simply put, the Blazers don't get the Pelicans' 2022 first-round pick if New Orleans makes the playoffs. McCollum and Co. are just one win away from this goal. If they defeat the Clippers on Friday, then what Portland will end up getting instead would be the Milwaukee Bucks' first-round pick — for 2025.
McCollum may no longer be with the Blazers but he could still have a major impact on the future of his former team.
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