The New Orleans Pelicans inked CJ McCollum to a two-year extension yesterday, so they have him locked up for the next four seasons.
The deal was reportedly for 2 years/$64 million according to Adrian Wojnarowski among others:
This was mostly celebrated by fans of the New Orleans Pelicans, as CJ McCollum has been one of the most reliable players in the NBA over the last seven seasons and is a popular player who had a great start to his career in New Orleans.
But there are always some naysayers, as some bemoaned that this was too much money to give to a player on the wrong side of 30, while others wondered why the Pelicans would do this before they saw how McCollum fits with Zion Williamson:
These are both valid concerns but in my opinion, the CJ McCollum extension is a home run for the Pelicans for several reasons.
New Orleans Pelicans: Money and fit with the CJ McCollum extension
The money is the least concerning thing about the CJ McCollum deal, as McCollum has shown that he is worth every penny both on and off the court. He’s scored 20+ ppg in the last seven seasons, one of just a handful of active NBA players who can make this claim.
McCollum will make around $33 million per season over the next four years, which is certainly a lot of money. But by NBA standards, this is close to minimum wage for an impact starter. Just look around the league, where you will see far lesser players making this much.
That number is going to look even better in two seasons when the salary camp skyrockets (which is predicted) which will mean McCollum will likely be taking home less than 20 percent of the cap, a great deal for a guy of his talent.
The Pels’ payroll is about to go up, but so is the cap, so the deals they’ve signed with Zion, Brandon Ingram and McCollum are actually going to look like bargains when all of the max guys are making closer to $50 million per season, which is coming soon.
As for fit, give me one reason why CJ McCollum wouldn’t fit with Zion. McCollum is a veteran who has been around enough to know how to fill his role. He can hit tough shots from all over the court, play on the ball or off it and be…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Pelican Debrief…