The Washington Wizards thought that they were upgrading at guard when they traded for CJ McCollum this summer. Instead, they ended up with an undersized, aging guard who is off to a horrible start to the season.
20 points even. That is the lowest numbers of point per game that McCollum has averaged in a single season since breaking out in his third season and winning Most Improved Player in 2015-16. Like a metronome, McCollum averaged between 20 and 23.1 points for 10-straight seasons. Last year he put up 21.1 points per game and hit 37.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
The Wizards worked out a trade this summer to bring in McCollum and Kelly Olynyk (subsequently flipped to the San Antonio Spurs) in exchange for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey. The idea was that McCollum could provide a veteran hand in Washington to help develop the young core and be the No. 1 option offensively, a steadier presence than the unpredictable Jordan Poole. Given that Poole is under contract for a full season longer than McCollum, it seemed like an obvious win for the Wizards.
CJ McCollum has been terrible for the Wizards
If McCollum has been steady to start the season, it's that he is steadily bad. Four games in, McCollum is averaging 13.3 points per game on just 32.1 percent shooting from the field and 25.9 percent from 3-point range. It's a small sample size, to be sure, but since McCollum became a starter, he has only had a stretch as bad as this twice, both part of an extended slump in late 2022. This is extremely atypical for McCollum.
McCollum looks slow; he cannot gain separation and his bag of crafty tricks is proving less effective. He is not turning the ball over, but he also is not exactly sparking the offense with his passing; he has just 20 assists through four games. And when you take away an efficient offensive game, there is nothing left; the 6'3" McCollum is the worst defender in the rotation and isn't making connective plays on either end of the court.
By all accounts, McCollum is a great player to have on a roster and in the locker room. The Wizards will benefit from his veteran leadership and mentoring of their young players, especially young guards like Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson. If the Wizards were looking for him to make an elite impact on the court, however, those days seem to have passed him by.
There is time for McCollum to right the ship, and perhaps this is merely a cold spell and he will start raining down jumpers again and create space for his forays toward the rim. As players like Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr continue to ascend they can give McCollum better assist opportunities.
Or perhaps this is the end for McCollum as an NBA starter, and after this season he will be looking for deals to be a team's backup combo guard on a cheap contract. The Pelicans were questioned for getting such a poor return for McCollum; now it all makes a little more sense.