"We was on the phone for 2 hours": Damian Lillard revisits emotional conversation with CJ McCollum upon latter's trade

Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were teammates for eight and a half seasons on the Portland Trail Blazers. They had a successful stint together as one of the best duos in the NBA, but the Trail Blazers decided to break them apart midway through the 2021-22 season.

Before McCollum's trade was finalized, Lillard talked to him on the phone for a couple of hours. On the "Knuckleheads" podcast, Lillard discussed the trade that sent McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Blazers were very open about their plans to both McCollum and Lillard, which made everything easier:

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"I think we had a game and I remember I got home that night and we was on the phone for like two hours," Lillard said.

"The whole time we was just talking about everything leading up to that point. It's going to happen. It's crazy it was that type of conversation, but I think that kind of made it easier for both of us."

The Portland Trail Blazers traded CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 8, 2022. The Pelicans received Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a protected 2022 first-round draft pick and a couple of future second-round picks.

Damian Lillard admitted that he didn't need to adjust after the trade, as he was already on the sidelines when it happened. Lillard played just 29 games that season due to an adductor injury, which needed surgery.

McCollum signed a two-year, $64 million extension with the Pelicans in the 2022 offseason. He's an integral part of the young team featuring Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones and Dyson Daniels.

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Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason

Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks

Damian Lillard's tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers ended just a year and a half after they traded McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans. Lillard requested a trade before the start of free agency, but the Trail Blazers waited until before the start of training camp to pull the trigger.

Lillard initially wanted to get traded to the Miami Heat, but Pat Riley did not want to pay a lot of assets to acquire the superstar guard. The Milwaukee Bucks swooped in to get Lillard to strengthen their roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In his first 13 games with the Bucks, Lillard is averaging 24.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.1 steals. He has adjusted to playing with another superstar, "The Greek Freak," and new coach Adrian Griffin.

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