Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were co-stars for the Portland Trail Blazers for a long time, but their partnership is now over, as CJ McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans prior to the trade deadline. Damian Lillard is now the lone star in Portland, and it seems as though he still isn’t fully over the CJ McCollum Trade.
When speaking to Draymond Green on an episode of The Draymond Green Show, Damian Lillard revealed that he has been watching every single New Orleans Pelicans game, while thinking that CJ McCollum “really ain’t coming back”.
Dame hasn’t fully moved on from the @CJMcCollum trade 😢 pic.twitter.com/5Rn2UofyBg
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) February 22, 2022
I’ve been watching every game of New Orleans like “Damn, he really ain’t coming back”.
There is no doubt that trades often separate friends from one another, and it seems as though this is the case here. There is no doubt that CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard have become very close during their time in Portland. While they didn’t win a championship together, the Portland Trail Blazers were a good team, even making the Western Conference Finals in 2019.
While it is unfortunate that the Portland Trail Blazers had to trade CJ McCollum, they did make sure that he went to a solid basketball situation. The New Orleans Pelicans have a really good young star in Brandon Ingram currently, as well as players like Herb Jones and Jonas Valanciunas, who are good role players. When Zion Williamson returns, they should be an amazing team that should contend for the playoffs next season.
Nothing will erase the years that Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have spent together, but there are certain things that Damian Lillard can look forward to. Anfernee Simons has been absolutely stellar for the team, and new acquisition Josh Hart is the type of defensive wing that the team was looking for. On top of that, the Portland Trail Blazers could potentially free up around $60 million in cap space this summer to build around Lillard, which could help them get back to being a playoff team. Hopefully, the team can surround Damian Lillard with a roster that can help him compete for a championship.
