The Washington Wizards acquired veteran guard CJ McCollum in a trade earlier this offseason in exchange for Jordan Poole. It was a smart move — trade a guy in Poole who arguably loses more games than he wins with his playstyle for McCollum, who is both a better player and whose contract expires after this season.
McCollum, entering his age-34 season, is well beyond the Wizards’ desired time frame for core pieces. McCollum is the established and respected president of the NBA players’ union, whereas the most important players on the Wizards are all of the age to be sleeping in dorms and eating at dining halls.
I am very much of the opinion that he should be kept around as a mentor to the young guys and in exchange be allowed to walk in unrestricted free agency next summer. However, it is likely smarter business to either buy out McCollum or trade him as an expiring contract. Here are three teams I think could use McCollum’s services.
Milwaukee Bucks
Spoiler alert: This offseason, any time I am discussing potential fits for a player, I will be listing the Bucks. The Bucks have done an admirable job rebuilding around Giannis Antetokounmpo with the disastrous hand they have been dealt in the wake of the Damian Lillard achilles tear, but they are still a seriously deficient team, even in a weakened Eastern Conference.
The Bucks need guards badly. Their best guards are Gary Harris, Gary Trent Jr., and Cole Anthony. All three are fine enough bench players, but they are certain to be severely overworked when it comes to shot creation, and the Bucks’ offense will suffer because of it.
Also, Kyle Kuzma is still a Buck.
Los Angeles Lakers
What the Lakers really need is a center who likes the sport of basketball. Beyond that, they need backups if they are really to be the championship contender they hope to be. Gabe Vincent and former Wizard Marcus Smart are currently the first two guards off the bench, but McCollum would be a substantial improvement over the wildly inconsistent Vincent.
Whoever they may end up bringing in will still inevitably face a barrage of scrutiny when the early playoff exit happens, but McCollum is one of the best theoretically available options out there to supplement the Lakers’ shallow backcourt.
Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard romantically returned to his home Blazers this offseason, so why not his old running mate McCollum as well?
The Blazers are flushed with guards — Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe to name a few, but the rest of their roster is disjointed and disorganized. A veteran like McCollum, who is beloved by the Blazers fanbase, could be a welcome lubricant for the slow development of Henderson and Sharpe especially.