CJ appreciation thread

Post #1 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Tue Feb 8, 2022 11:53 pm

Feels right we have one of these for the second longest tenured Blazer. CJ might have been a poor fit especially toward the end, but he was always a class act and is one of the most well spoken and thoughtful player personalities, as well as a deadly scorer to boot - I am not sure there are more than a handful of active players with his array of ISO moves in their pocket. Plus with his journalism degree and foray into a leadership position like the NBPA president, I expect to see him quite a bit on TV even once his playing days are finished.

So lets give a round of appreciation for CJ, remember some of the highlights of his time here, such as this 37 point performance to seal game 7 against the Nuggets in 2019:

Watch on YouTube

Post #2 » by **The Sebastian Express** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 12:03 am

I appreciate the amount of times CJ made other players fall down. I loved his game 7 performance.

I'll also always love him for that time he obliterated Chandler Parsons, who was trying to trash talk the Blazers, by saying we won the lottery by not signing him.

May you succeed in New Orleans (not to the detriment of Portland!), may your vineyards in Oregon stay flush and amazing, may you come back here for the summers and most of all - great health and lovely lives to you, your wife and your new baby boy. Very sorry the trade came just a month after he was born.

JRoy · Post #3 » by **JRoy** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 12:58 am

Thanks for the memories.

Need a ride?

GOBlazers · Post #4 » by **GOBlazers** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 1:36 am

Thank you CJ. Congratulations on scoring 20+ points 193 times on the same night as Dame. An NBA record for an NBA duo, besting Bird and Parrish.

Case2012 · Post #5 » by **Case2012** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 1:43 am

Nothing but love for CJ, always professional, super hilarious, cold blooded, legendary handles. He’ll be missed.

It’s gonna hurt seeing him in another jersey.

Dame Lizard · Post #6 » by **Dame Lizard** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 2:03 am

A very professional player and a great human being.

He's a really good NBA player and was a very good draft pick - unfortunately just not the best match for another scoring guard (who isn't defensively strong).

The fact Olshey extended him to a large contract, when really he should have been traded to change up the formula, isn't on him.

Wishing him all the best.

PDXKnight · Post #7 » by **PDXKnight** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 2:12 am

Thanks cj for everything. If we didn’t have dame you probably would’ve been seen in a much different light here. Nonetheless it was a great and exciting run, you killed it against denver and almost always showed up in the playoffs. Do good things in new orleans as long as you don’t screw up our pick!

DusterBuster · Post #8 » by **DusterBuster** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 3:16 am

Genuinely bummed to see him go even though it had to happen.

Neil Olshey sure had a bad habit of overpaying every player who came through the doors in Portland. No ill-will to any player taking the payday, I would too. Had Olshey kept CJ around 20mil vs 30mil, we may not have needed to break up the Dame/CJ duo since the roster could have been more balanced. As it stood, having two guys under 6'4" taking up 60% of your cap just wasn't sustainable.

Can't wait to see CJ return and hope the team gives him a big warm welcome back.

I hope he has a long post-career life in Portland. Will go buy a bottle of his wine in celebration of CJ.

Red Robot · Post #9 » by **Red Robot** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 4:00 am

It already feels like CJ's destined to be one of the franchise's most underappreciated players.

He was an effective player and by all appearances a good person too. Beyond that, I always appreciated how much fun he was to watch. He had a really high skill level and it made Blazers games that much more enjoyable.

Post #10 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 5:16 am

DusterBuster wrote:Neil Olshey sure had a bad habit of overpaying every player who came through the doors in Portland. No ill-will to any player taking the payday, I would too.

It wasn't Olshey's money, so wouldn't be too surprised if this tied back to Allen a little bit. We are a small market in a high tax state, maybe Allen said something like F it I'm rich and dying lets spend whatever whether it makes a difference or not.

As it stood, having two guys under 6'4" taking up 60% of your cap just wasn't sustainable.

But this was still true and where Olshey dropped it.

monopoman · Post #11 » by **monopoman** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 5:22 am

Still remember his incredible series against Denver, while people underrate how well Lillard played in that series CJ was a huge part of why we won it.

He was paramount in the come back victory in Denver in game 7.

Blazer50 · Post #12 » by **Blazer50** » Wed Feb 9, 2022 5:25 am

Many Thanks to you - CJ - for 8 years of being a true professional who epitomized the Class and Character of our franchise. We could not have asked more of anyone to subrogate your game to Dame, but having stepped up whenever called upon to take over.

Here's hoping your star shines in your new role as a Leader of Pelicans and you enjoy many All Star campaigns and deep runs into the Playoffs. Hope you and your family call Portland your home for many years to come. I know I will root for the Pelicans in the future - except vs the Blazers - because you're there.

Myth · Post #13 » by **Myth** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 4:01 am

Likely posted elsewhere, but his player tribune letter is worth a read: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/cj-mccollum-portland-trail-blazers-nba-basketball-new-orleans-pelicans

Kind of makes me feel bad for not being as loyal to him as I have been Dame, but I agree that it is nice that it wasn’t a bad breakup and I’m glad he is excited about playing in New Orleans.

JasonStern · Post #14 » by **JasonStern** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 4:25 am

Must read:

Read on Twitter

The feels.

Also feel for Powell. That interview when it broke and he was like, I thought I was safe. I took a good contract to stay here. I played my heart out. I just bought a house hoping to stay here.

Hope it works out.

PDXKnight · Post #15 » by **PDXKnight** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 4:43 am

DusterBuster wrote:Genuinely bummed to see him go even though it had to happen.

Neil Olshey sure had a bad habit of overpaying every player who came through the doors in Portland. No ill-will to any player taking the payday, I would too. Had Olshey kept CJ around 20mil vs 30mil, we may not have needed to break up the Dame/CJ duo since the roster could have been more balanced. As it stood, having two guys under 6'4" taking up 60% of your cap just wasn't sustainable.

Can't wait to see CJ return and hope the team gives him a big warm welcome back.

I hope he has a long post-career life in Portland. Will go buy a bottle of his wine in celebration of CJ.

I think at the time cj probably got about what the market would have beared had he hit free agency. While in hindsight it was an overpay i think at the time it seemed reasonable given that he was coming off some decent playoff runs. Crabbe was severely overpayed in hindsight, as was meyers whose contract was insane in my eyes (lots of injuries nothing proven yet we gave him 30-40 mil). And gotta love the irony that the one guy he didn’t pay became a stud in trent jr.

I do wanna try that cj wine and hope he keeps his roots in this community. Would love to bring him back as an older vet when he’s 38 or so if we need bench help.

Clipsz 4 Life · Post #16 » by **Tim Lehrbach** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:51 pm

I think I was a bigger McCollum fan than most on this board, but as even CJ himself seems to understand, it felt like the time had come to move on. Appreciate his professionalism throughout his years here and in departure.

JasonStern · Post #17 » by **JasonStern** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 4:37 am

Oden2 wrote:I think at the time cj probably got about what the market would have beared had he hit free agency. While in hindsight it was an overpay i think at the time it seemed reasonable given that he was coming off some decent playoff runs. Crabbe was severely overpayed in hindsight, as was meyers whose contract was insane in my eyes (lots of injuries nothing proven yet we gave him 30-40 mil). And gotta love the irony that the one guy he didn’t pay became a stud in trent jr.

When Brooklyn offered Crabbe the rookie max, the first post on Blazers RealGM wasn't a Woj tweet. It was "Bye!" I distinctly remember that.

Meyers was equally confusing, as the Blazers bid against no one.

But the CJ contract seemed like an owner being loyal to a player he liked. Strongly suspect that Gary Trent Jr. wouldn't have been moved - or at the least, assets wouldn't have been dumped purely for cap space - if Paul Allen were still around. It is what it is.

Post #18 » by **The Sebastian Express** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 4:49 am

JasonStern wrote:
Oden2 wrote:I think at the time cj probably got about what the market would have beared had he hit free agency. While in hindsight it was an overpay i think at the time it seemed reasonable given that he was coming off some decent playoff runs. Crabbe was severely overpayed in hindsight, as was meyers whose contract was insane in my eyes (lots of injuries nothing proven yet we gave him 30-40 mil). And gotta love the irony that the one guy he didn’t pay became a stud in trent jr.

When Brooklyn offered Crabbe the rookie max, the first post on Blazers RealGM wasn't a Woj tweet. It was "Bye!" I distinctly remember that.

Meyers was equally confusing, as the Blazers bid against no one.

But the CJ contract seemed like an owner being loyal to a player he liked. Strongly suspect that Gary Trent Jr. wouldn't have been moved - or at the least, assets wouldn't have been dumped purely for cap space - if Paul Allen were still around. It is what it is.

I believe that post might have been mine about Crabbe. Allen was a good shooter, but that was clearly a terrible overpay and I was shocked we matched.

JasonStern · Post #19 » by **JasonStern** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 5:12 pm

The Sebastian Express wrote:I believe that post might have been mine about Crabbe. Allen was a good shooter, but that was clearly a terrible overpay and I was shocked we matched.

And Nicholson is still on the books through 2024 as a result.

Crabbe was definitely overpaid, but I get the whole "he's young", "he keeps improving", "we don't want another Jermaine O'Neal", "keep the young core together" situation. And if the team had one bad contract, the team wouldn't have been in cap space hell for the last few years. But matching Crabbe's bloated offer, overpaying CJ, overpaying Meyers Leonard, overpaying Evan Turner, paying Festus Ezeli to watch TV, etc. No idea what Olshey was thinking, but it ruined the last off-season in the Damian Lillard era where Portland had any cap space.

HoopsFanAZ · Post #20 » by **HoopsFanAZ** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 6:01 pm

CJ was a class act for Portland. I hope the Pelicans suck enough this year for the Blazers to get 5-14. After that, best wishes. Two things CJ didn’t do well enough — improve his D to acceptable and get to the line drawing just enough contact. (He was too good at taking the time to create space — classic little man who grew.) (LMA leaving and Matthews with the Achilles just as CJ got good … horrible timing! Then they made the playoffs when they were supposed to tank. :banghead:

)