When the Portland Trail Blazers dealt away CJ McCollum back in February of 2022, the deal was met with some understandable skepticism due to how much McCollum had done for the franchise. But now, three years later, the move looks less like some type of bold swing and more like a fantastic fleece job by Portland, especially considering the latest piece of the deal that was just finalized in the 2025 NBA draft.
On Wednesday night, Nolan Traore was officially selected with the 19th pick in the first round. Traore is ultimately going to end up with the Brooklyn Nets, but the pick itself simply serves to remind us of the gift that was the CJ McCollum trade, and how it just keeps on giving.
Let's re-visit the trade in full, shall we? When the Trail Blazers opted to send away McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans, they also included Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell in the deal. In return, Portland received Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, a 2022 protected first-round pick, as well as two future second round picks.
Portland just added another piece from the McCollum trade
In simple English, the Blazers turned CJ McCollum into a treasure trove of valuable assets. Portland now has their long-term flexibility still intact, while New Orleans was left feeling the repercussions of McCollum's contract.
It's not super often you see a trade like this one age very well for the seller. But in this case, it's pretty hard to argue against Portland being the clear winner. McCollum will be 34 years old at the start of next NBA season. Although his scoring power is significant, he clearly wasn't enough of a difference maker in New Orleans for the Pelicans to escape the mid-to-low-tier of the conference. Perhaps that's why they just decided to trade him this week.
CJ obviously looked like a borderline All-Star level player in Portland alongside Damian Lillard. But since he made the move to New Orleans, it's clear that he hasn't provided quite the level of impact as before.
As more of the details of this 2022 trade become finalized, it's just becoming more and more evident what a great job Portland did in trading away their former franchise co-star. Trail Blazers fans should be beaming with pride and feeling an even greater sense of confidence in this front office right about now.