CJ McCollum Says NBA Teams 'Shouldn't Be Punished for Drafting Well' Under CBA

Washington Wizards guard and former National Basketball Players Association president CJ McCollum gave his take Friday on the current collective bargaining agreement and how it impacts teams that draft well.

During an appearance on The Young Man and the Three, McCollum said the following about the restrictions the CBA places on teams that have built stacked rosters:

"You shouldn't be punished for drafting well. We've seen some teams be really fortunate in the draft. And now you get to that position—Oklahoma City's going through it now—where you've gotta play a lot of players who are really good, and you drafted them. You shouldn't be punished for drafting well, you should be able to pay and keep and retain the players that you've drafted. And when you have those windows to where you really have a chance to compete and win a championship, you shouldn't have such severe restrictions. But those are things that the league and the players union will have to figure out, and there will continue to be a discussion and a dialogue around it."

McCollum took over for Chris Paul as the NBPA president in 2021 after previously serving as vice president since 2018, and he remained president until Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet was elected the new president earlier this month.

When the current NBA CBA was agreed upon in 2023, McCollum headed negotiations for the players, and one of the biggest changes enacted was the creation of the second tax apron.

Teams that spend beyond the second apron on player salaries are severely limited in what other moves they can make, as they cannot use cash or first-round picks that are seven or more years in the future in trades.

They also can't match the salary of a singular player they are trading for with the salaries of multiple players from their own team. They aren't allowed to use the taxpayer mid-level exception in free agency either.

Teams over the second apron are allowed to retain their own players, but signing them can put them further over the apron and hamstring them even more.

McCollum used the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder as an example of a team that could have to make some tough decisions soon due to the second apron.

The Thunder signed their superstar trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to contract extensions this offseason, and when the extensions start to kick in during the 2026-27, it may force them to move on from key contributors such as Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso and Lu Dort.

Of course, the point of a salary cap is to even the playing field as much as possible, so those types of tough decisions often had to be made even before the second apron was enacted.

Even so, the apron system figures to be a major topic of discussion ahead of the expiration of the current CBA at the end of the 2029-30 season.