C.J. McCollum signed a two-year, $64 million agreement with the Pelicans after he assisted New Orleans in reaching the playoffs for the first time following the trade of Anthony Davis to the Lakers. There is no player or team option in the agreement, and he will be under team contract through the 2025–26 season. The news was announced early on Saturday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
For McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., and Tony Snell, New Orleans exchanged Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Didi Louzada, a protected 2022 first-round selection (which becomes a top-4 protected
2025 first-round pick), and two future second-round picks.
McCollum, Zion Williamson, and Brandon Ingram are already locked into their roles as New Orleans' primary players for the upcoming three years.
For the upcoming several years, the Pelicans will face enormous expectations. First-year head coach Willie Green helped the team recover from a 1-12 start the previous season, and they finished 36-46 before defeating the Spurs and Clippers in the play-in tournament. After falling to the Suns 4-2 in the opening round of the playoffs, their season was over.
After being traded to New Orleans, McCollum averaged 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.7 triples per game.
The team anticipates making the playoffs this season thanks to Zion's comeback and the success of last year's squad. Their rebuilding process is complete, as evidenced by locking up their premier guard in McCollum. They don't anticipate going back to the lottery for a while after missing the playoffs their first three seasons in the post-AD era. The main concern with their likelihood of success will be Zion's wellbeing.
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