Damian Lillard commerce rumors: CJ McCollum addresses hypothesis about Path Blazers star

CJ McCollum has some unhealthy information for NBA groups hoping that Damian Lillard will quickly turn into obtainable in commerce talks.

Throughout an look on “The Woj Pod” with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Path Blazers guard spoke on a number of subjects, together with the hypothesis surrounding Lillard and his future with the franchise. Ever since Portland fell to Denver within the first spherical of the NBA playoffs, rumors have swirled about Lillard’s standing, however McCollum believes his longtime backcourt mate is “all-in” with the Path Blazers forward of the 2021-22 season.

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“I’ve a fairly good sense of the place he is at, and I feel his purpose is to win a championship. On the finish of the day, that is what all of us need. We wish to put ourselves in the very best place to win a championship,” McCollum informed Wojnarowski. “He is all-in. I feel, at this stage, I can say that he is all-in. He simply desires to win on the finish of the day.”

Lillard has constantly pushed again on the concept he would power his means out of Portland this summer time. In a number of media periods in the course of the U.S. males’s basketball staff’s gold-medal run on the Tokyo Olympics, the six-time All-Star informed reporters there had been “plenty of speak” not coming from him, including that he’ll deal with any issues “straight” with Path Blazers normal supervisor Neil Olshey.

McCollum echoed his teammate’s message, saying that Lillard would not want anybody to talk on his behalf.

“I feel he is proven traditionally that he is the kind of particular person, if he thinks one thing, feels one thing, he says one thing. And, if somebody comes out with one thing that is not true, he’ll appropriate it, whether or not that is by means of the media or on Twitter,” McCollum stated. “On all accounts, based mostly on what I’ve heard, based mostly on what I’ve seen, I feel he simply desires to win a championship, and he desires to do it in Portland. We have talked in regards to the parade route. We have shared what it could be like, what that will really feel like.

“That is our purpose. That is his purpose. I do know it. We have spoken on it many, many instances. I feel, from that standpoint, proper now our focus is simply on getting higher, bettering.”

McCollum has performed alongside Lillard his total profession since being chosen by Portland within the first spherical of the 2013 NBA Draft, and the Path Blazers have reached the NBA playoffs in every of his eight seasons. Nonetheless, they’ve additionally failed to flee the primary spherical in 4 of the previous 5 seasons.

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