After years of stagnation and trade speculation involving one of their two foundational pieces, the Portland Trail Blazers are finally breaking up their core. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Blazers are finalizing a deal to send CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans. The trade is not yet official and talks are ongoing around overall framework of the detail.
This marks the end of an era in Portland which drafted McCollum with the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft. Although he has never made an All-Star team, McCollum developed into a legitimate second scoring threat playing alongside perennial All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard as they formed one of the NBA’s highest-scoring backcourts. He’s currently averaging 20.5 points per game, his seventh straight season scoring over 20 points per game.
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Pelicans-Trail Blazers trade details
- Pelicans receive: CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, Tony Snell
- Trail Blazers: Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, Pelicans 2022 first-round pick with protections (Pick becomes Blazers if it lands between No. 5 and 14.), two second-round picks
McCollum adds scoring punch and a veteran presence to a New Orleans team on the fringe of playoff contention and still awaiting the return of Zion Williamson. Once Williamson returns, the Pelicans will now have a trio of proven scorers in Williamson, McCollum and 2020 All-Star Brandon Ingram who currently leads the team with 22.8 points per game.
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CJ McCollum contract
McCollum is in the first year of a three-year, $100 million dollar contract signed this past offseason. His contract runs through the end of the 2023-24 season.
| Season | Salary | Age |
| 2021-22 | $30.9M | 30 |
| 2022-23 | $33.3M | 31 |
| 2023-24 | $35.8M | 32 |
CJ McCollum age
McCollum turned 30 in September and will be 32 when his current contract expires in the summer of 2024. He joins a young Pelicans team centered around the 21-year-old Williamson and 24-year-old Ingram. The top six in minutes played for the Pelicans this year are all under 30 years old, not including Williamson who has not played as he continues to rehab from offseason foot surgery.
Larry Nance contract
Nance gives the Pelicans another versatile forward or small-ball five to pair with Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas in the frontcourt. Nance is making $10.7 million dollars this season and is in the third year of a four-year contract originally signed with the Cavaliers in the summer of 2019. It’s a team-friendly deal that decreases each year as the now 28-year-old Nance will make $9.7 million dollars next season in the final year of the contract.
Josh Hart contract
Like McCollum, Hart is in the first year of a three-year, $37.0 million dollar deal signed this past offseason. The 26-year-old is making $12 million this season. According to Spotrac, the second year of Hart’s deal is non-guaranteed while the third year is a player option.
Damian Lillard contract
Of course, with the trade of McCollum will come chatter about what happens next with Damian Lillard in Portland. The six-time All-Star hasn’t played since Dec. 31 and underwent abdominal surgery in early January. Initial reports indicated that Lillard’s status would be updated in six weeks.
MORE: Damian Lillard injury update
Lillard signed a four-year, $176 million dollar max deal with Portland this past offseason and is on the hook for $39.3 million this season. His current contract runs through the 2024-25 season when he’s scheduled to make $48.8 million. Lillard does have a player options for that final season meaning he can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.
Prior to injury, Portland’s franchise player was enduring one of the worst seasons of his career, shooting a career-worst 40.2 percent from the field while averaging 24.0 points per game, a sharp decline from last season when he pumped in 28.8 points per game which ranked third in the NBA.