Former Blazers Star Hints at Post-Retirement Portland Plans

A former Portland Trail Blazers standout has hinted that Portland could play a role in his life even after retirement.

Last weekend, CJ and Elise McCollum were back in the Portland area to promote CJ's signature wine, McCollum Heritage 91, at Willamette Valley Country Club, reports longtime Oregon sportswriter Dwight Jaynes.

“...[We’re] so happy to be back in Portland,” McCollum said of the event.

Jaynes reports that the McCollum family maintains a home in suburban Carlton, and will be adding a tasting room addition to the house soon. Now with the Washington Wizards after a summer trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, CJ McCollum even suggested he might make Portland his permanent home once he hangs up his sneakers for good.

A Portland Finale for CJ McCollum?

“Summer here is the best,” McCollum said. “But I’m going to have to learn how to play golf.”

McCollum also reflected on the return of his longtime backcourt mate and friend Damian Lillard rejoining the Trail Blazers in free agency, after he was surprisingly bought out of his remaining $112.6 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this summer.

“As soon as I saw that Milwaukee bought him out I thought there was a good chance. Not sure I expected him to get back here this soon, though,” McCollum said.

The 6-foot-3 Lehigh product was a key contributor on several playoff-bound Trail Blazers clubs alongside Lillard, peaking with a surprise trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. Across nine seasons in Portland, McCollum averaged 19.0 points on .453/.396/.820 shooting splits, 3.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 steals a night.

McCollum, who's essentially point guard height but had to play more off the ball to complement Lillard in Portland, was a defensive liability even in his prime. Although they proved to be a dynamic scoring duo with the Trail Blazers, McCollum and Lillard also gave up points on the other end of the court, which ultimately capped how far they could climb together.

Portland shipped McCollum to New Orleans midway through the 2021-22 season, where he was quickly shifted to a more natural point guard role. After the Pelicans fell apart last year, the team fired longtime president David Griffin this past spring, replacing him with former champion Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars (who was also a pretty good player, we hear). Dumars flipped McCollum to Washington for the younger Jordan Poole.

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