Trail Blazers trade C.J. McCollum to Pelicans

CJ McCollum (YouTube)

What we have found over the last week is clear. The Portland Trail Blazers are in a rebuilding mode. Just four days after trading Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Trail Blazers also moved shooting guard CJ McCollum of Canton, Ohio to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

In the deal, the Pelicans are also acquiring power forward Larry Nance Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio and shooting guard Tony Snell of Los Angeles, California. The Trail Blazers meanwhile are acquiring four players and three draft picks. The players are power forward Josh Hart of Silver Spring, Maryland, guard Tomas Satoransky of Prague, Czech Republic, shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and small forward Didi Louzada of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil. The draft picks are one first rounder and two second round picks. It is not known yet when the Trail Blazers will receive the picks.

The best player in the trade is obviously McCollum, who was the 2016 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year while with Portland. This season he has averaged 20.5 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, a field goal percentage of .436, a three-point percentage of .384, and a free throw percentage of .706. The .706 free throw percentage may be a little disconcerting to Pelicans fans because it is a major drop from the .912 he posted in 2016-17, which led the NBA.

Nance Jr. will be joining his fourth NBA team. In addition to Portland, he has previously played with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Snell is joining his sixth NBA team. He has previously played with the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, and Atlanta Hawks, in addition to the Trail Blazers.

Hart and Alexander-Walker have been integral members of the Pelicans this season. Hart is averaging 13.4 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 4.1 assists per game, an impressive field goal percentage of .505, a three-point percentage of .323, and a free throw percentage of .753. Alexander-Walker is now averaging 12.8 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, a field goal percentage of .375, a three-point percentage of .311, and a free throw percentage of .722.

Hart has previously played for the Lakers, and Satoransky has previously played with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. By trading McCollum, will Portland trade their star point guard Damian Lillard next or he will be satisfied in what Portland has got in return? Time will tell.

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