CJ McCollum Opens Up About Trade to Pelicans in Farewell Letter to Blazers, Fans

CJ McCollum went from the undersized kid who helped lead Lehigh to a stunning upset of Duke in the NCAA men's basketball tournament to a legitimate NBA star during his eight-plus seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, so it comes as no surprise he had plenty to say about his time with the team that selected him in the first round of the 2013 NBA draft.

McCollum discussed his time with the Trail Blazers in a letter for The Players' Tribune and included sections about his relationship with Damian Lillard, how much he appreciates the organization and thanking the fans for their support.

"As crazy and cold-hearted as this business can be sometimes, in this case everything was truly transparent and honest," he wrote. "That's how strong my bond with the Blazers organization is. We knew that this chapter, as beautiful as it’s been, was coming to an end."

He also recognized how much Portland means to him:

"This is not just business. Portland is home. You don't spend nine years in a place like this without it having a deep impact on you. I'm not talking about basketball. I'm talking about your soul. I wasn't even sure how to say goodbye to everybody. That night after the trade went down, I went to our practice facility to get all my shoes and my orthotics and everything from my locker, and none of the guys were there. It was kind of surreal, because I wasn't sure how quickly they'd have anything wrapped up, but when I walked in, they already had my nametag taken down from my locker and everything. Our equipment managers already had my stuff laid out and folded perfectly for me in front of my stall. (Thanks Eric and Cory, I'll miss you guys)."

His time with the Trail Blazers ended when they traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Portland sent McCollum, Larry Nance and Tony Snell to the Pelicans for Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, a 2022 protected first-round pick and two second-round picks.

McCollum will now join Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram in New Orleans, which he said helped take away the hurt of being traded:

"I wanted to go to New Orleans. That's the thing that really takes away the sting. Just purely as a pure hooper, I'm so excited to get to go play with Zion and B.I. and Valanciunas and all those young guys. I really feel like I bring a lot to the table in terms of professionalism and preparation, because in nine years I've seen everything in this league. I've gotten DNPs, I've dropped 50, I've been doubted, I've been hyped, I've been in Game 7s, I've hit game winners, I've missed game winners. When you're young in this league, you don't know what you don’t know — take it from an old head who used to walk around the mall all day. There's a lot of wisdom I think I can bring to the table in New Orleans and I'm really excited just as a human being to be moving to the city to catch some football games at the Superdome. (My son is still being raised a Browns fan, though, I'm sorry.)"

While Williamson is yet to play a game this season, the idea of McCollum playing alongside him and Ingram is certainly an intriguing one for a Pelicans team looking to contend in the Western Conference. 

That is plenty of firepower that could be on the floor together if the 10th-seeded Pelicans reach the playoffs.