C.J. McCollum went to Toronto in August, and it's not just because the city is beautiful that time of year. Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Jay Triano is the head coach of Canada's national team, and David Vanterpool, who is also on Terry Stotts' staff in Portland, is one of Triano's assistants. This connection meant McCollum had access to the wisdom of Steve Nash, the general manager of the Canadian national team. McCollum worked out with Nash for three days, he told The Oregonian's Mike Richman:
"Working with Steve Nash helped me slow down the game some more, helped me understand pick and rolls and how point guards think," McCollum said. "Having the ability to manipulate guys with your eyes, use your body to hold guys off and then just make the proper reads."
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"Working with him and seeing how he approaches a ball screen, how he approaches his defender in transition," McCollum said of what he gleaned from the future Hall of Famer. "Just simplifying the game."
The reason McCollum is doing this, aside from the fact that every basketball player should want to learn from Nash? Portland wants him to be Damian Lillard's backup point guard next season, in addition to likely starting at shooting guard. McCollum always saw himself as a combo guard, but the Blazers went with a trusted veteran -- Mo Williams, then Steve Blake -- as the primary backup for the last couple of seasons. Now that they've committed to a youth movement, they might as well see how McCollum handles this role.
There are other options if the experiment fails next season -- Portland has Phil Pressey and Tim Frazier on the roster -- but it's notable that McCollum is getting this big of a chance. While the Blazers played him at point guard in his first summer league, he's largely been used as a scorer in the games that matter. As long as he's in Portland with Lillard, that will remain his primary responsibility. It can only help him, though, to work on his pick-and-roll game, improve his passing and see the game through the eyes of one of the greatest playmakers ever.
It was nice practice for Nash, too. The future Hall of Famer was likely using some of the same drills he'll be doing with the Golden State Warriors as a part-time development consultant.
