CJ McCollum Takes Veiled Shot at Rival Teams in Statement Praising Blazers Over Plan to Resume NBA Season
By Jerry Trotta
The NBA's proposal to restart the 2019-20 season in Orlando at Walt Disney World amid the coronavirus pandemic was approved by the Board of Governors in convincing fashion on Thursday. League owners approved the motion by a near-unanimous 29-1 final vote.
The Portland Trail Blazers were later revealed as the lone team to refute the blueprint. But before NBA Twitter could take shots at them, star guard CJ McCollum praised the franchise's braintrust for "actually listening to its players" and opposing the 22-team roadmap.
We play for an ownership group that actually listens to its players and has a backbone. We voiced what we felt was the best option and they followed our lead. I commend our front office and Jody Allen. https://t.co/mAj5EzeiUh
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) June 4, 2020
McCollum slamming rival organizations for having "no backbone" speaks volumes as to how much Portland's front office, as well as owner Jody Allen, values the input of the players, who preferred a 20-team format. The former No. 15 overall pick's claims also come on the heels of teammate Damian Lillard asserting that he wouldn't return if the NBA wanted to implement meaningless regular season games in its contingency plan.
Per ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Trail Blazers voted against the proposal because they adamantly believed that there were more "innovative" formats left on table than the one that prevailed.
Sources: Blazers are eager to resume season, but chose to vote “No” because franchise believed there were more competitive and innovative formats on table -- including those that addressed 2020 NBA Draft lottery odds based on regular-season game results in Orlando.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 4, 2020
When play was halted in mid-March, Portland was locked in a three-way tie with the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 9 seed, 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
This approval doesn't necessarily mean that Lillard will be left behind in Rip City while the Blazers report to Orlando to finish the campaign, but McCollum's loud criticism proves that they aren't pleased with the lack of objection the league's other 29 teams put forth in the voting process.