CJ McCollum's brother makes feelings known on predicted trade to reunite Pelicans guard with Damian Lillard
CJ McCollum's New Orleans Pelicans have been stung by the injury bug like no other team in the NBA. Now, standing on a 5-22 record and with several stars on the shelf with injuries, this is starting to feel like a lost season for Willie Green's team.
Notably, multiple names have been floated around in potential trade rumors. Unsurprisingly, that includes CJ McCollum, a veteran who could be of great use for a contender.
According to Legion Hoops, the Milwaukee Bucks are the odds-on favorites to land McCollum if he were to be traded. With that in mind, his brother, Erik, took to X to share his thoughts on the possibility of a reunion with Damian Lillard:
"Idk if this true or not but everything is unpredictable in the league. My brother is happy in New Orleans and has become a staple in the community…. BUT if this did happen, this right here would be something special to watch," he said, adding an eyes emoji. "They chemistry A1."
CJ McCollum reacts to trade rumors
Of course, this isn't CJ McCollum's first rodeo. He's been around the league long enough to know how all of this works, so he's not reading too much into all the chatter, as he told local media earlier this week:
“What are the rumors?” McCollum asked. “What players have been (named)? I’ve been in the league a long time. It’s the time of the year where you can turn your mentions off (for your cell phone). You can turn on your alerts or turn them off.
"For a lot of guys who’ve been in the league, they understand it. Generally speaking, most guys aren’t going to be lifers on one team. There are only a handful of guys throughout the league’s history that have only played on one team.”
If anything, McCollum knows he still needs to go out there and perform for whichever team he's playing. If something else happens, so be it:
"You gotta do your job. Your job is to prepare and give your best effort each night," McCollum continued. "Teams are going to be circling like sharks to try to figure out who they can poach.
"Our team is maybe entertaining, maybe not entertaining trades. Who knows. If teams are calling and inquiring about you, that means that you have value beyond where you're currently at."
CJ McCollum is a valuable veteran, and multiple teams would benefit from his three-level scoring. Whether someone will pull the trigger or not remains to be seen.