CJ McCollum played his first eight and a half seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers. During that period, McCollum and Damian Lillard helped the Trail Blazers to the NBA playoffs eight times, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. From McCollum’s perspective, regardless of how heated things grew between Lillard and Cronin, the seven-time all-star should be optimistic about his future.
McCollum spoke with Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian/Oregon Live on the Lillard deal. “I’m really happy for him,” he said. “Obviously, things didn’t end probably the way both parties wanted. But in the end, everybody kind of got what they asked for, right? It’s a situation where they add assets, they can kind of build around their young talent, and they move forward. Dame goes to a contender.”
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CJ also mentioned that the Bucks and Dame’s pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo was a better situation for him than joining the Miami Heat. “Miami would have been great for him, and that’s where he wanted to go. But you could argue that this is a better situation in terms of winning a championship than Miami, outside of the taxes and the weather,” he said.
Lillard desired a trade from the Blazers to the Miami Heat. Portland, on the other hand, was unimpressed by Miami’s proposals for Lillard. McCollum, who was dealt by the Blazers to the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2022, feels Lillard will love playing with the Bucks since Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the NBA.
CJ McCollum thinks Giannis Antetokounmpo is better than Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo
The addition of Damian Lillard to Giannis Antetokounmpo has caused a ripple effect around the NBA. Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks were the first seed, but they were eliminated far too early. They could have used someone like Lillard to handle their shot-creation issues with Antetokounmpo out. Expectations are as high as they can be now that one of the top shotmakers has joined one of the most dominant players.
Even CJ McCollum thinks the Bucks are a better landing spot for Dame. McCollum elaborated on how this new tandem may frighten the league, saying, “No disrespect to Jimmy and Bam, and that organization, and that roster, but Giannis is different. That’s a different guy to play alongside in terms of his dominance. There’s not another guy in the league that dominates the way he does. He’s just the guy that’s really, really hard to guard.”
They are a complete team with little talent overlap. Whatever Lillard lacks, Antetokounmpo makes up for, and vice versa. Not to mention one of the most terrifying ball handler and roll man combos in NBA history. The Bucks will be among the favorites to win the NBA championship next season.