CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans agreed to a two-year contract extension with the team Saturday.
According to ESPN’s NBA insider, Adrian Wojnarowski, the two-year extension is worth $64 million and will keep McCollum under contract with the Pelicans until 2026.
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
Maintaining McCollum on a long-term deal is important for New Orleans, and his presence on the team will be something on which they’ll be hinging their championship hopes.
Last February, McCollum was acquired by New Orleans by way of a trade after playing nine seasons for the Portland Trailblazers. In just 26 games with New Orleans last season, McCollum averaged 24.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game, according to Basketball Reference. (RELATED: John Cena Breaks Guinness World Record For Most Wishes Granted Through Make-A-Wish Foundation)
McCollum’s extension aligns him to play next to Pelicans all-stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson for the next four years. The big three of McCollum, Williamson and Ingram are without a doubt the foundation for New Orleans’ success. Each player is capable of knocking down three-point shots and scoring by attacking the basket. Their versatility offensively will cause headaches for opposing defenses.
With the long term commitment from McCollum, the Pelicans look to turn their fortunes around and become a winning franchise. In the last ten seasons, New Orleans has only had two winning seasons, according to Basketball Reference. Now that the Pels have a formidable big three of talent, they should start improving. They have the brass and the resources to defeat anybody.
As long as New Orleans avoids the injury bug, they should be a shoe-in for the postseason next year and in seasons to come.