The New Orleans Pelicans made one of the biggest trades of last season when they went out and got CJ McCollum from Portland during the Blazers fire sale, a move that helped propel New Orleans into the play-in and, eventually, to the 8-seed where they went to six games with the Suns before being eliminated from the first round.
McCollum’s presence provided the Pelicans with another high-level scorer and creator, something they were lacking with Zion Williamson out and Brandon Ingram being asked to carry a considerable load. Now, coming into the 2022-23 season, there’s optimism abound for what this offense can look like with all three of those players on the court, as well as intrigue as to how they’ll structure the offense to take advantage of their varied skillsets.
The Pelicans will not be looking at this season as a testing ground for their new star trio, though, as they are confident this is the core they want to build around. After inking Williamson to a max extension when the league year opened, David Griffin and the Pelicans brass have been working on locking McCollum in for the long-term as well, getting a deal done on Saturday that will pay him $64 million over two new years tacked onto his contract, keeping him in New Orleans for four more seasons total.
New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has agreed on a two-year, $64 million extension that’ll take him through 2025-2026, his agent Sam Goldfeder of @Excelbasketball tells ESPN. New deal ties McCollum to Pels for four years and $133M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 24, 2022
It’s a big contract for McCollum, who ensures he gets paid handsomely into his mid-30s (he’ll be 35 when this contract ends), while the Pelicans now ensure they have McCollum, Ingram, and Williamson under contract for the next three years together, giving them a clear window to try and compete and grow with this core group.
