CJ McCollum

Northwest Notes: Thunder, McCollum, Thibodeau

January 13th, 2017 at 4:40pm CST by Austin Kent

Though he’s played sparingly for the Thunder since making his return, the addition of Cameron Payne has made head coach Billy Donovan‘s job setting each game’s active lineup that much harder. With Payne in the mix, players like Kyle Singler and Semaj Christon have been inactive, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

Horne relays that Thunder coaches generally decide close to the morning shootaround which of their players will be inactive for the upcoming game. In some scenarios, as was recently the case with Victor Oladipo, those decisions are delayed until later in the day to accommodate for the fluctuating status of injured players.

“As a coach you always want every guy to dress, for every guy to play and be available, but we can’t do that,” Donovan says. “The decisions are a little bit easier because of the kind of guys we have on our team.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Veteran Brandon Rush didn’t disappoint when called to produce for the Timberwolves, writes Kent Youngblood of the StarTribune. Rush’s ability to knock down threes and stretch the floor did not go unnoticed by his coach and teammates while he filled in for Zach LaVine. “That shows how valuable he is,” Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns said. “And how professional he is, to be ready for the moment he was needed.” With LaVine’s status still uncertain, Rush could be featured prominently once again.
The Timberwolves are showing progress on the defensive end of late, Youngblood writes in a separate piece for the StarTribune. Youngblood cites the team’s eighth-best net rating (plus-2.3) since December 13 as a sign that things are turning around. “One game doesn’t solve everything for us,” says Tom Thibodeau, a head coach renowned for his defense. “But I like the direction we’re moving in now.”
At the halfway point of the 2016/17 campaign, Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News evaluates the Jazz. The team was considered a potential playoff contender during the offseason and McDonald concludes that thanks in part to the depth of their roster, Utah is not only on track to make the postseason for the first time since 2012, but to potentially claim home-court advantage in the first round.
It’s time to seriously consider C.J. McCollum among the league’s best shooters, says Zach Lowe for ESPN. Given McCollum’s first rate pull-up jumper, Lowe is ready to lump the Trail Blazers guard in with the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kyle Korver.

Blazers Rumors: Stotts, Ezeli, McCollum, Turner

January 4th, 2017 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers are just a single game out of the playoffs in the Western Conference, but with a 15-21 record, it has been an extremely disappointing season so far in Portland. Still, the organization isn’t panicking at this point, as there’s a belief that the team will work its way back into the postseason picture, writes Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. According to Haynes, Terry Stotts‘ job as the team’s head coach isn’t currently in jeopardy.

In a lengthy and interesting piece, Haynes provides several other notable Blazers-related tidbits, so let’s round up some of the highlights…

The Blazers went into free agency aiming to retain their own key free agents, as well as adding another ball-handler and a rim-protecting big man. The club targeted players like Hassan Whiteside, Joakim Noah, and Dwight Howard, but came up short. According to Haynes, Portland was ready to renounce a player – perhaps Meyers Leonard – in order to free up cap room to sign Pau Gasol, but the free agent center opted to sign with San Antonio instead.
Ultimately, the Blazers landed Festus Ezeli on a two-year, $15MM deal, but Ezeli may end up not playing a single game for the team, as he’s expected to undergo season-ending surgery. According to Haynes, Ezeli gave a “stern” locker-room speech after a tough loss last month — when the big man launched into a similar speech a couple games later, he was cut short by C.J. McCollum. As Haynes puts it, “being lectured by someone who wasn’t even playing wasn’t received favorably” by other Blazers players.
Potential trade targets like DeMarcus Cousins and Nerlens Noel aren’t currently on the Blazers’ radar, sources tell Haynes. Cousins likely isn’t available anyway, and Noel is eligible for restricted free agency, so Portland may be turned off by his contract situation.
The Blazers are open to making a trade, but don’t feel obligated to make a move. According to Haynes, the team isn’t looking to trade McCollum or Evan Turner.
Team owner Paul Allen was insistent on retaining Portland’s own assets during the offseason, and as such, the team “never thought twice” about matching Allen Crabbe‘s offer sheet from the Nets, per Haynes.
Be sure to check out Haynes’ full piece for more on the Blazers.

Northwest Notes: Leonard, Blazers, Nuggets, Hill

December 4th, 2016 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Things worked out fine for Meyers Leonard in Portland, but not without some difficulty, writes Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. Leonard turned down a $40MM extension offer from the Blazers in 2015 in hopes of cashing in as a free agent. Instead, he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder in March and missed the rest of the season, throwing a wrench into his free agency plans. “It was a complete nightmare last year,” Leonard said. “Last year was the hardest year of my life, not even close. I lied to my entire family the whole year. I told them I was okay, I wasn’t. I came from nothing and I turned down $40 million.” Ultimately, the Blazers chose to keep Leonard, giving him $41MM over four seasons.

There’s more tonight from the Northwest Division:

Off to a disappointing start, the Blazers would likely have to surrender guard C.J. McCollum in any deal to bring in a star, Sports Illustrated writer Ben Golliver said in an interview with John Canzano of The Oregonian. Portland would probably be reluctant to part with McCollum after giving him a maximum extension in July.
Denver doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to attracting top free agents, but coach Michael Malone hopes that will change soon, relays Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Nuggets made a strong play for Dwyane Wade over the summer and believe they can improve enough to become an attractive destination. “I think once you get guys to Denver, a lot of people fall in love with it,” Malone said. “We’ve have veterans on our team, Darrell Arthur, [Danilo] Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, they don’t want to leave. Darrell Arthur told his agent, ‘Listen, get it done with Denver, I don’t want to go anywhere else.’ I think that speaks more than anything I can say, the fact that once you’re there and the quality of life and how beautiful it is, I think Denver sells itself.”
The Pacers thought they needed to unload George Hill to switch to an up-tempo style, and the Jazz were happy to take him, writes Nate Taylor of The USA Today Network. Hill has brought stability to the point guard position in Utah, while providing the Jazz with an upgrade in ballhandling and defense. “I knew he was a good defensive player, a team player, an unselfish guy,” said teammate Rudy Gobert. “I thought that was great for our team. A guy that’s tough and unselfish and can shoot the ball and create. He can do a lot of things. I knew he was a very good player.”

Western Notes: Clarkson, Hayward, McCollum

October 18th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s unclear if Jordan Clarkson will be in the starting lineup or coming off the bench for the Lakers this season, but regardless of his role, the guard needs to continue to improve his defense, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report writes. “We watch tape at our coach’s retreat and they gave us the analytics on him defensively, and he was not good last year at defense. He was not good,” coach Luke Walton said. “He’s been maybe our most consistent perimeter defender since the start of camp. A big part of defense. if you’re going to play it on every possession, is enjoying the idea of trying to get stops and trying to make it hard on your guy,” Walton said. “He’s a year older, who knows what it is, but he’s done a great job for us.”

Clarkson acknowledges he had some improvements to make over last season’s version of himself, Pincus notes. “All defense is, is taking angles, finding a spot where to cut somebody off, using your chest,” Clarkson said. “Some of that stuff had to come in the weight room. I got stronger this summer. I just put in a lot of work.”

Here’s more from out West:

Gordon Hayward can opt out of his current deal after the season, but Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said during an interview on Sirius XM Radio today that he is confident the team will re-sign the forward. “For us I think, as much as anything, we need to be ourselves with Gordon, need to be authentic and real and then he’s going to have a decision to make. But fundamentally, if we do the right things here… Let’s just be honest, we have an advantage by having his Bird rights. There’s a lot of money associated with the fifth year and higher raises,” Lindsey said. Hayward’s player option for 2017/18 is worth $16,736,710, but he’ll almost assuredly command well over that amount on the open market.
Blazers point guard Damian Lillard believes that Portland will be a contender for the Western Conference crown this season, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. “It’s a lot of tough teams in the West,” Lillard said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh we can go right up in there and it’s going to be easy.’ But I feel like we’re one of the teams that’s right there in the mix. Obviously, you’ve got teams like Golden State and San Antonio, the teams that everybody talks about. Obviously, they’ll be good, but I feel like we could jump right up there and get in the mix with them.”
Lillard’s backcourt partner, C.J. McCollum, who inked a maximum salary extension this summer with the Blazers, has the proper makeup not to let the distractions that accompany such a major financial windfall affect his play, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical writes in his profile of the player.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Jazz, Thunder

August 8th, 2016 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

After playing the first several years of his NBA career on a contract that will pay him about $10MM in total, C.J. McCollum is set to begin playing on a $106MM+ deal a year from now, having signed an extension last month. Despite the huge pay raise, the Trail Blazers guard doesn’t expect to be affected by increased expectations, as he tells Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. “The only real pressure is the pressure I put on myself. As long as I’m continuing to work and get better, no one is going to put pressure on me but myself,” McCollum said, adding that he thinks the franchise is “heading in the right direction.”

Here’s more from out of the Northwest:

As Bobby Marks of The Vertical details, the Jazz have built their current roster primarily through the draft, but adjusted that philosophy this summer by trading a late lottery pick for veteran point guard George Hill. After just missing the playoffs last season, Utah focused on adding veterans this offseason to take the next step.
In the wake of Russell Westbrook‘s new extension with the Thunder, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman examines the relationship between the star point guard and head coach Billy Donovan. According to Horne, Westbrook and Donovan have been in touch frequently this summer — sometimes “just saying hello,” per Westbrook.
As we outlined earlier today, Northwest teams spent the least amount of free agent money this summer out of any of the six divisions, with only the Trail Blazers making a major splash on the open market.

Western Notes: McCollum, Nance Jr., Wolves

August 5th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Speaking at a press conference today, Blazers guard C.J. McCollum raved about the team’s moves this offseason and what they mean for the season ahead, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays. “I think we have a little bit of everything,” McCollum said. “You look at the roster, the way we put different pieces together, bringing in Festus Ezeli, a guy who has championship-level experience defensively, impacts the game right way. Can hedge ball screens. Can do a lot of things we’re not accustomed to. Then you look at Mason Plumlee, a big who can handle the ball, can initiate the offense, can kind of serve as our defacto point guard a lot of times in situations where Dame (Damian Lillard) and I were getting trapped. Bringing back (Allen Crabbe) was big, a guy who can knock down shots, defend high-level wings. Bringing in Evan Turner, a versatile wing, who can pass, play-make, play on the ball, and I think he’ll be an improved three-point shooter.

So we brought back Maurice Harkless, we brought back Meyers Leonard, we brought back a lot of young guys who are thirsty, thirsty to get better, thirsty to prove that the success wasn’t a fluke, thirsty to prove they’re worth what they are getting. A lot of guys are looking forward to the challenge of, like Neil said before, exceeding expectations again and continuing to win and build. Because we care about the city, we care about where we come from, we care about what we represent. And I think that’s what you get, guys who are team-first.”

Here’s more from out West:

Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr., who injured his wrist during Las Vegas Summer League play, is progressing well and is expected to resume full basketball activities in two weeks time, per an announcement by the team.
In his look at the Timberwolves‘ offseason moves, Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines that the most important addition was coach/executive Tom Thibodeau, who will be counted on to teach the young roster how to be winners. The scribe also notes that the additions of Cole Aldrich and Jordan Hill were vital for the franchise, given the health concerns of Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Garnett.

Blazers Notes: Whiteside, Aminu, Turner, Offseason

August 4th, 2016 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers blew away their Northwest rivals when it came to offseason spending, committing more than $242MM ($234MM+ guaranteed) to free agent contracts. By comparison, the other four Northwest clubs combined to commit about $85MM to free agents. And the Blazers’ total doesn’t even include the $106MM extension that the club handed out to C.J. McCollum last week.

Considering so many of the Blazers’ big signings were players who were already on the team’s roster, it remains to be seen whether the franchise will take another step forward in the Western Conference picture this season. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com examined the situation in Portland in his latest column, and passed along a few interesting tidbits, so let’s round them up…

According to Lowe, the Blazers would have liked to make a run at Hassan Whiteside in free agency, but were “spurned” by the young center, who didn’t waste much time in agreeing to a new deal with the Heat. With Whiteside no longer in play, the Blazers could have pursued another center like Dwight Howard, Bismack Biyombo, or Ian Mahinmi, but ultimately went in another direction.
The Blazers’ decision to sign McCollum, Allen Crabbe, Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard to pricey long-term contracts means that the team won’t have any cap room to work with for the foreseeable future. “Good players on favorable contracts are more valuable to us than cap room,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said. “Especially in an era where all 30 teams have cap room — or the ability to get it. … With our interest in extending C.J., we weren’t going to be a cap room team next year, anyway.”
As Lowe observes, the Blazers are currently projected to be in luxury-tax territory in 2017/18 and perhaps 2018/19 as well. However, he notes that if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement includes a new amnesty clause for each team, as the last CBA did, Portland could have an opportunity to avoid that fate.
Stotts tells Lowe that the Blazers intend to play Al-Farouq Aminu almost exclusively at power forward rather than small forward. As Lowe points out, that could be bad news for Noah Vonleh.
Damian Lillard‘s work ethic helps dictate the culture of selflessness in Portland, which will help ensure that all the players with huge new contracts will continue to work hard. Sources tell Lowe that when one recent draft pick entered the NBA “carrying a whiff of entitlement,” the Portland coaching staff pointed to Lillard and essentially said: “He’s way better than you, and he’s working harder.”
Olshey on the Blazers paying $70MM+ to both Crabbe and Turner: “The way the game is being played, plus the dearth of available wings, made us willing to pay a premium for two impact players that fit our model.” The GM is also confident that Turner will improve his outside shooting in Portland.

Western Rumors: Thunder, McCollum, Suns, Barnes

July 30th, 2016 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder still need to address their perimeter shooting, according to Eric Horne of The Oklahoman. Free agent Dorell Wright could be an option at small forward, Horne speculates, but the club is taking a cautious approach with its payroll. Not only are the Thunder hoping that Russell Westbrook signs an extension but they also have to plan on commitments to Steven Adams, Andre Roberson and Victor Oladipo, who are also eligible for extensions and can become restricted free agents next summer, Horne adds.

In other doings concerning the Western Conference:

C.J. McCollum‘s contract extension with the Blazers falls shy of the maximum, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. McCollum agreed to an extension that kicks in for the 2017/18 season and is worth $106MM over those four years.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle helped convince the Suns to claim John Jenkins off waivers in February, Jenkins told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. When Dallas needed to create roster space after the trade deadline, Jenkins became the odd man out. He wound up appearing in 22 games with the Suns, averaging 5.0 points in 13.0 minutes, and remains on their roster for next season. “I was waiting for the waiver period to pass to see if my contract would be cleared and if I’d become a free agent,” Jenkins told Kennedy of his time on waivers. “Then, I was told by my agent that Coach Carlisle called the Phoenix Suns on my behalf and spoke highly of me. He looked out for me big time and I really appreciate that.”
Harrison Barnes finds himself in an awkward spot with Team USA, playing alongside ex-Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and his replacement Kevin Durant, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com reports. Barnes signed a four-year, $95MM offer sheet to join the Mavericks after Durant committed to Golden State. “It’s weird. It’s like the last chapter we’ll play together in our basketball careers. But we’re embracing it,” Thompson told Aschburner. “HB’s a great guy. … He’s only scratched the surface of what he can do. I’m happy for him, and me and Draymond are happy for one more go-round because he really is a great teammate.”

Blazers Sign C.J. McCollum To Extension

July 27th, 2016 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 27: The Blazers have officially signed McCollum to his extension, the team announced today in a press release.

“I’m ecstatic to be able to extend my career in Portland and grateful for the trust and the opportunity the organization has provided for me,” McCollum said in a statement. “Since I arrived in Oregon I’ve considered it home and look forward to building something special, not only on the court, but in the community as well.”

JULY 25: The Trail Blazers and C.J. McCollum have reached an agreement on a maximum-salary contract extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, the deal will add four years to McCollum’s current contract, locking him up through the 2020/21 season. Based on current cap projections, the deal would be worth about $106MM.

The 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft, McCollum became eligible for a contract extension for the first time this month, after playing the first three seasons of his rookie contract. He’s set to earn a modest $3.22MM salary in 2016/17 before getting bumped up to the max the following year. If he hadn’t agreed to an extension with Portland, McCollum would have been eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

After starting just three of 100 games in his first two seasons as a pro, McCollum became a full-time starter in 2015/16. He responded by increasing his scoring average from 6.8 PPG to 20.8 PPG, and chipped in 4.3 APG and 1.2 SPG as well. Although McCollum’s huge increase in production was largely due to a similar increase in playing time, he was also a more efficient contributor in his third season, establishing new career highs in FG% (.448), 3PT% (.417), and FT% (.827).

Because Portland inked Damian Lillard to a five-year contract extension last year, making him the team’s “designated player,” McCollum was limited to a four-year extension. Wojnarowski adds that the agreement for the team’s starting two guard won’t include any options or a trade kicker.

While the exact value of McCollum’s contract won’t be known until the NBA officially sets the 2017/18 salary cap next July, the league currently projects a $102MM cap, which would result in a starting salary of about $24MM on McCollum’s new deal. The Blazers already have nearly $62MM committed to Lillard, Allen Crabbe, and Evan Turner for the ’17/18 campaign — McCollum’s deal figures to bring that total to about $86MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

CJ McCollum Wins Most Improved Player Award

April 22nd, 2016 at 9:02am CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers shooting guard CJ McCollum has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, the league announced. He secured the honor by a wide margin over second-place finisher Kemba Walker, with Giannis Antetokounmpo coming in third. Reigning MVP Stephen Curry, a heavy favorite to win MVP again this year, is fourth. The award is a boost to McCollum as he heads into an offseason in which he’ll be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension.

“Being recognized as the Most Improved Player in the NBA is a testament to the dedication and commitment to his game CJ has shown since joining the Trail Blazers,” GM Neil Olshey said in the statement.

McCollum’s emergence this season helped Portland keep pace in the Western Conference despite the loss of four starters from last season’s 51-win team. The Blazers won only 44 games this year, but they had the West’s fifth-best record compared to last year’s sixth-place finish. McCollum zoomed from 6.8 points in 15.7 minutes per game to 20.8 points in 34.8 minutes per contest, improving his shooting percentage from the floor and from 3-point territory, where he canned a sterling 41.7% of his attempts this season. The 24-year-old was first on the Blazers with 1.2 steals per game and second to Damian Lillard in assists per game with 4.3.

The season for McCollum was in large measure a fulfillment of the promise he showed coming out of college that led Olshey and the Blazers to draft him 10th overall in 2013. A broken foot in his rookie season and the presence of eventual max-contract signee Wesley Matthews relegated him to a reserve role his first two years in the NBA, but McCollum had the green light this season and took full advantage. Olshey said recently that the team had faith in him all along and that had he not suffered the broken foot, he probably would have become a starter as a rookie.

A panel of writers, broadcasters and other journalists who cover the NBA voted for the award. A ballot-by-ballot summary is available here. Five points were awarded for a first-place vote, three points for a second-place vote, and one point for a third-place vote.

Below, see how each vote-getter ranked, with first-place votes noted where applicable.

C.J. McCollum (Trail Blazers) — 101
Kemba Walker (Hornets) — 7
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) — 4
Stephen Curry (Warriors) — 7
Will Barton (Nuggets) — 1
Jae Crowder (Celtics) — 1
Draymond Green (Warriors) — 2
Isaiah Thomas (Celtics) — 3
Hassan Whiteside (Heat) — 1
Kawhi Leonard (Spurs) — 1
Andre Drummond (Pistons) — 1
Gary Harris (Nuggets) — 1
Kent Bazemore (Hawks)
Evan Fournier (Magic)
Rodney Hood (Jazz) — 1
Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
Reggie Jackson (Pistons)
Ian Mahinmi (Pacers)
Zach LaVine (Timberwolves)
Kyle Lowry (Raptors)

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