CJ McCollum hints at troubling issues for 1 rival team

Apr 5, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

One of the more well-connected players in the NBA is spilling some tea this week about a rival team.

In the most recent episode of his self-titled podcast, New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum hinted at some concerning potential issues for the Toronto Raptors, namely that certain players may be unhappy.

“Something’s gonna happen [with Toronto],” said McCollum. “I don’t know what. There’s rumbling about certain players on the team not being happy, and, due to tampering, I can’t speak to that. But I think they’re gonna move someone at some point … Something needs to change because they’re way too talented to be struggling the way they’ve been struggling throughout the season. They’ve got too many good pieces. They got too many guys who are, not only impactful and quality NBA players on that team, but that would be impactful and quality players on other teams.”

McCollum currently serves as president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), so he obviously knows a lot. He was also teammates with current Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. in Portland for several seasons.

After winning 48 games last season and earning the No. 5 seed, Toronto is now 11th in the East at 20-24. While many players from their 2019 title run are still on the roster (like Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby), there have indeed been recent rumors of possible trouble with the Raptors.