Today seems like the perfect day to pop open a bottle of CJ McCollum’s Heritage 91 brand wine.
On behalf of the city of New Orleans, I’m proposing a toast and raising my glass to a guy who proved to be the ultimate professional.
Typically when a player leaves a team, the player thanks the city.
But sometimes, the city should thank the player.
This is one of those times.
McCollum deserves it.
The New Orleans Pelicans traded McCollum Tuesday, along with Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round draft pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and this year’s No. 40 draft pick.
The move allowed the Pelicans to move away from the expiring $30.7 million contract of McCollum, who turns 34 in September. The Pelicans, meanwhile, get Poole, who just turned 26 last week and is coming off a season in Washington where he averaged a career-best 20.5 points and 4.5 assists.
Basketball-wise and financially, the deal makes sense.
But if you have followed McCollum’s career, you know he’s about much more than basketball.
He brought a much-needed level of leadership and professionalism to the Pelicans' locker room when he was traded from Portland to New Orleans in February of 2022.
McCollum showed up to work even when his body told him not. He played in 75 games in the 2022-’23 season, including the last three months with his right thumb in a splint after tearing a ligament in January that year. Here's an even more telling stat. McCollum, in 3 ½ seasons in New Orleans, played in 223 games. Zion Williamson, who just finished his sixth season, has played in just 214 games.
McCollum understands the level of commitment it takes to be withstand the grind of a grueling NBA season. He constantly prepared himself for the grind, both mentally and physically.
He did it even when times got hard, like they so often did this season.
It was McCollum’s career-high tying 50-point masterpiece against the Washington Wizards in January that snapped the Pelicans’ 11-game losing streak. That game came just two days after the Bourbon Street terrorist attack that killed 14 people in New Orleans.
“It’s nice for (the people in the city) to have something to enjoy for a little bit and kinda escape everything that may be going on right now,” McCollum said that night.
Six weeks later, McCollum scored 43 points in a win over the Sacramento Kings to snap a 10-game losing streak.
“He’s one of our guys that’s literally holding things together in the locker room with these young guys,” Willie Green said that night. “He’s been through so much throughout the course of his career. He’s a staple for us. We see it week in and week out that he comes out and gives it everything he has every night.”
That willingness to always leave it all on the floor is why McCollum will take his place with former Pelicans like Jrue Holiday and Jonas Valanciunas as fan favorites. He’ll get cheers every time he steps foot back in the Smoothie King Center.
McCollum leaves as the franchise’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers with 692. He is one of just three players in franchise history to score 50 points in game. Anthony Davis and Jamal Mashburn are the others. Yeah, there were some rough patches along the way. McCollum made just 24 of his 80 3-point attempts in his 10 playoff games with the Pelicans. But the good far outweighed the bad.
His 1,113 assists rank fifth in franchise history. That doesn’t include all the assists he made off the court in New Orleans. McCollum partnered with the Pelicans to create career opportunities for McCollum Scholars and expand mentorship for youth. He spearheaded the Pelicans becoming more active in conversations around policy reform and racial injustice. McCollum continues to work towards reforming Louisiana’s youth incarceration system. He opened an education and innovation hub at the Westbank Boys & Girls Club last spring. His generous donations to the New Orleans Association of Black Journalists has helped aspiring journalists pay for their college tuition.
He was a finalist for the NBA Social Justice Champion Award this season. Last season, McCollum won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
The same respect he earned in during his nine seasons in Portland, he also earned in New Orleans. He’ll no doubt do the same in D.C.
The trade itself could be a win-win.
A win for the Pelicans. A win for the Wizards.
But for the city of New Orleans, it’s a loss.
A loss of one of those rare athletes who just does things the right way.
To the ultimate professional, the people in New Orleans pop open a bottle of your wine, raise their glasses and thank you for what you meant to the city.
Cheers!!!