Last summer, the Portland Trail Blazers made sure to lock up their franchise player Damian Lillard with a max contract extension. This summer, they've decided to make sure they have a max backcourt moving forward. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical is reporting the Blazers and C.J. McCollum have agreed to a four-year, $106 million max extension as both sides avoid restricted free agency in the summer of 2017.
McCollum was named the league's Most Improved Player in 2015-16 during his first full season starting alongside Lillard. The Blazers' backcourt was the third-highest scoring tandem in the NBA behind the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and the Oklahoma City Thunder's combination of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Portland guard CJ McCollum has reached agreement on a four-year, $106M maximum contract extension, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 25, 2016
McCollum was given the starting shooting guard spot this season and made Terry Stotts and Neil Olshey look like geniuses with the decision. His scoring average jumped from 6.8 points in 2014-15 to 20.8 points in 2015-16. He played 34.8 minutes a night and was a lethal outside shooter at 41.7 percent from 3-point range. He also averaged 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds.
The career year and his breakout performance helped him run away with the MIP award as he received 101 of the possible 130 first-place votes. McCollum first burst onto the Blazers seen toward the end of the 2014-15 season when an Achilles' injury to Wesley Matthews and inconsistency from the newly acquired Arron Afflalo led to an increase in minutes and some spot starts for McCollum. He then saw an increased role off the bench in their brief playoff appearance in which he averaged 17 points in 33.2 minutes over five games.
Here are three things to know:
1. Blazers solidify backcourt for the foreseeable future
After LaMarcus Aldridge left last season, the Blazers focused on building around Lillard. Now with McCollum locked in for the next four years, Portland has its starting backcourt of the future as he complements Lillard perfectly. Also, since McCollum is just 24 years old, the Blazers will have him under contract during his prime, which he has yet to reach. Both Lillard and McCollum are strong playmakers and high-volume scorers. Plus McCollum's 3-point shooting (41.7 percent last season) makes him a legitimate threat from long range, eschewing opponents' defense to Portland's advantage. Having a strong backcourt has become essential in the NBA and now the Blazers may have one of the best young tandems in Lillard and McCollum.
2. 2017 free agency lost a top guard
McCollum would've been a restricted free agent next summer, which could've kept some teams away from pursuing him. However, he would've been one of the better guards on the market and someone likely would've given him a sizable offer. But with his extension, that is no longer the case.
3. Portland is spending big money on guards
Extending McCollum makes complete sense as he is young and has shown that his game is still continuing to evolve. While Portland offered him an extension at fair market price, via salary cap enthusiast Albert Nahamd, the Blazers will be spending a combined $86 million in the 2017-18 season on Lillard, McCollum, Allen Crabbe and Evan Turner. Crabbe, Lillard and McCollum are all fairly young and the Blazers may be betting that all three will improve on defense while having their offensive games continue to develop over time, so that much money attributed to them seems fair. Yet this is another instance that points to how puzzling Portland's $70 million deal with Turner continues to be. It seemed like a lot of money in the beginning of summer for Turner and it may continue to be an overpay for the length of his contract.
