CJ McCollum Contract: Salary & When Blazers Guard Becomes Free Agent

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CJ McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts after hitting a shot during the second overtime of game three.

With the Blazers having one of their best postseason runs in recent years, CJ McCollum is finally getting his share of attention nationwide. Putting up some big numbers on extremely efficient shooting, McCollum has been nearly as important as offensive centerpiece Damian Lillard. McCollum has actually been more efficient from deep compared to Portland’s superstar and has done an excellent job of picking up the slack when Lillard goes a bit quiet.

An unheralded prospect out of high school, McCollum wound up attending Lehigh. He would dominate the Patriot league for all four of his seasons, averaging over 20 points per game in three of his four seasons. While he would take a bit of time to develop at the NBA level, McCollum’s game and natural scoring touch eventually translated and he has turned into a crucial component of the Blazers over the past four seasons.

CJ McCollum Contract: Salary & When Blazers Guard Becomes Free Agent

CJ McCollum signed a four year $106 million extension in 2016. Currently, McCollum is on year two of the extension and has two years left on his deal before hitting free agency in 2021. McCollum made just a hair under $26 million this season and stands to make $27.5 and $29.3 million over his next two seasons.

While McCollum hits the free agent market again in 2021, the Blazers have given no indication that they want to blow up their roster and start from scratch. With Damian Lillard having a breakout postseason and McCollum serving as his sidekick, the two seem entrenched in the Blazers’ long-term plans moving forward.

CJ McCollum 2019 NBA Playoff Stats

CJ McCollum is having his best postseason to date in 2019, averaging 25.3 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists, McCollum is putting put big numbers alongside Lillard. Up from his season averages of 21/4/3, McCollum is stepping up when it matters most for the Blazers. Long a running joke among NBA fans for being swept in the playoffs, the Blazers look to be a dangerous force in a loaded Western Conference.

For his career, McCollum has averaged 18.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during the postseason. With the duo of McCollum and Lillard taking on an even bigger share of the workload in the 2019 playoffs, the Blazers have seen a bit more success as neither has seen a dropoff in efficiency despite the increased volume.