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Thursday, July 16, 2020

Articles tagged: CJ McCollum

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CJ McCollum estimates a third of NBA players live paycheck-to-paycheck

April 7, 2020
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CJ McCollum

The minimum salary in the NBA is nearly $900,000 and the average salary is $7.7 million. With numbers so high, most people would think NBA players are doing well financially, even during tough times like now when they’re facing possible missed paychecks. But that might not be the case.

CJ McCollum, who has played in the NBA for seven seasons, estimates that about a third of players live paycheck-to-paycheck. He gave his guess in response to a question from Jay Williams on “The Boardroom.”

“I would say out of 450 players … 150 probably are living paycheck to paycheck,” McCollum said.

“I think a lot of guys are going to be hurting especially people on minimums or people that didn’t just budget correctly and didn’t expect this to happen,” McCollum said, via The Boardroom. “Maybe they loaned money or paid money to family. Maybe they’re taking care of multiple people and now there’s a work stoppage for us and for a lot of people in America.”

McCollum, 28, wasn’t saying that to elicit sympathy for players. He actually has donated money in Portland to help with COVID-19 relief. But he said that to share that many people — even ones who might surprise you — are also struggling and/or concerned.

The players are in a dispute with the owners over whether they will get their next payments (scheduled for April 15) and how much they will receive.

H/T Big Daddy

CJ McCollum agrees to three-year extension with Blazers

July 30, 2019
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CJ McCollum

The Portland Trail Blazers made a surprisingly deep playoff run this season when they reached the Western Conference Finals, and they have proven this offseason that they are intent on keeping their core together.

On Tuesday, the Blazers agreed to a three-year, $100 million contract extension with CJ McCollum. The star guard had two years remaining on his previous deal.

McCollum has been the model of consistency for the Blazers for several years now, and he averaged 21.0 points per game last season. He elevated his game in the postseason and averaged 24.7 points, which was one of the primary reasons for Portland’s success.

The Blazers signed Damian Lillard to a max contract extension worth around $200 million earlier in the offseason, so their backcourt is now locked down for several years.

CJ McCollum explains what makes Warriors so tough to face

May 24, 2019
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CJ McCollum

The Golden State Warriors are tough to play not just because of their superstars, but because of their style of play, and CJ McCollum got a first-hand taste of that during the Western Conference Finals.

McCollum admitted that playing the Warriors is tough largely because of how synchronized they are on the court.

“The biggest difference you see with the Warriors compared to everybody else is how aligned they are,” McCollum said on the “Pull Up” podcast, via Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Obviously, they’ve had some issues off the court this season. But once they step on that court, the communication is there. The understanding of where everyone is supposed to be is there consistently.

“You don’t ever really see them have crazy lapses. Offensively, constant movement off the ball and everyone is always looking to get Steph open; always looking to screen for Klay. And when they’re open, the ball is delivered on time and on target consistently.”

It’s this sort of thing that has allowed the debate to take hold over whether the Warriors are better without Kevin Durant, once which Durant addressed on Friday. It’s also why they’ll still be formidable even if he departs via free agency.

CJ McCollum meets woman behind ‘I’m trying Jennifer’ meme

May 16, 2019
by

CJ McCollum

The woman behind a famous meme involving CJ McCollum has received renewed attention with the Portland Trail Blazers making a deep postseason run, and McCollum is crediting her with helping to motivate him.

Not long before tip-off of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Blazers and Golden State Warriors, Jennifer Williams sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. McCollum came over to introduce himself, and he said “thank you” to her for providing motivation when she sent her now-famous tweet last year.

After DeMarcus Cousins signed with the Warriors last August, McCollum ripped the “disgusting stars” who are chasing championships with Golden State. Jennifer, who is a Warriors fan, zinged McCollum by telling him to “win a playoff game then talk.” McCollum replied by telling her, “I’m trying Jennifer,” and the response went viral.

The meme came back to life when McCollum scored 37 points and made some huge plays in Portland’s Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets last round. Jennifer then came forward again and acknowledged that McCollum had proved her wrong.

And here we are. A simple tweet from a rival fan has become one of the most entertaining stories of the 2019 postseason. If the Blazers go on to pull a major upset and reach the NBA Finals, we know know it was Jennifer who helped get them there.

Kevin Durant told CJ McCollum last year Blazers are not championship team

May 13, 2019
by

Kevin Durant

The Golden State Warriors will have to get through the Portland Trail Blazers if they want to make it to a fifth consecutive NBA Finals. Assuming Kevin Durant’s opinion has not changed much since the offseason, he can’t be all that worried about his upcoming opponent.

Back in July, Durant made an appearance on CJ McCollum’s “Pull Up” Podcast and talked about the upcoming season. McCollum was upset that DeMarcus Cousins had just taken less money to join the Warriors and wanted the big man to sign with Portland. Durant dismissed McCollum’s frustrations, because he said the Blazers star should not be concerned about contending for a championship.

“I mean, you know you guys aren’t gonna win a championship,” Durant said while laughing. “Let’s be honest. I like y’all. You’re hard to stop, but I mean, come on. You can’t be upset about this.”

Durant went on to advise McCollum to “just keep playing and don’t worry about what goes on at the top of things.”

Durant and McCollum are obviously close, so Durant’s comments were really nothing more than friendly banter in that context. Still, it would not be a surprise if the Blazers use them as motivation to play up the whole “they don’t think we belong here” angle.

McCollum scored 37 points in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and made some huge plays on both sides of the ball. The Blazers will be underdogs, but their confidence should be at its peak. That makes them as dangerous as any team the Warriors have faced.

CJ McCollum burns Torrey Craig over ‘great defense’ on him for clinching shot

May 12, 2019
by

CJ McCollum

CJ McCollum was not messing around during Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday.

McCollum was feeling it throughout his Portland Trail Blazers’ 100-96 win over the Denver Nuggets and did not let up in the fourth quarter. He went 3-for-5 over the final three minutes of the game, making what proved to be the game-sealing shot on an elbow jumper.

In his tweet about the play, Steve Jones Jr. said Denver’s Torrey Craig played “great” defense on McCollum. McCollum disagreed, saying “Great defense my a–,” in response on Twitter.

He was just oozing with confidence all day.

That was further felt by McCollum saying he demanded the ball at the end because he didn’t think Craig could guard him.

McCollum played like a man sick of being caught up in the memes for not winning a playoff game in the Blazers’ last two postseason trips. Sunday’s performance is what fans will remember about him now.

Woman behind CJ McCollum ‘I’m trying Jennifer’ meme speaks after Game 7

May 12, 2019
by

CJ McCollum

The woman behind the famous “I’m trying Jennifer” meme received renewed attention on Sunday after CJ McCollum’s huge performance in Game 7.

McCollum scored an incredible 37 points and delivered a huge chasedown block as he carried the Portland Trail Blazers to the Western Conference finals with a 100-96 win at Denver in Game 7.

As McCollum’s massive offensive performance unfolded, fans on Twitter kept referencing the “I’m trying Jennifer” meme.

Last year, McCollum ripped the “disgusting” stars who joined the Warriors. His comment came in August in the context of DeMarcus Cousins signing with Golden State.

A woman on Twitter named Jennifer Williams didn’t like McCollum criticizing her favorite team (Golden State) and zinged him in response, telling him to “win a playoff game then talk.” McCollum’s response, “I’m trying Jennifer,” went viral.

Portland had been swept out of the playoffs in the first round two years in a row when Jennifer zinged McCollum.

Fast forward to Sunday, and McCollum had the game of his life carrying his team to the conference finals, where they will face Williams’ Warriors. Jennifer was congratulatory of CJ for “trying” and recognized his effort.

She even acknowledged she had been served some humble sauce.

Someone needs to get CJ’s biggest inspiration to the conference finals.

In addition to the Jennifer meme, McCollum said he was motivated by some other factors after last year’s exit. You could tell this year he was on a mission to turn things around. He did just that.