CJ McCollum Media Day: Trade Talk “Comes with the Territory”

During the 2021 offseason, Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard CJ McCollum’s name came up often in trade rumors, but today at Trail Blazers Media Day 2021, McCollum said the trade chatter didn’t bother him.

The eight-year NBA veteran said he understood that trade speculation “comes with the territory” as a professional athlete.

There’s gonna be fans that love you. There’s gonna be fans that aren’t fans of you and there’s going to be fans that like you, but would still like to see you traded.

McCollum said with a chuckle that he understood where fans were coming from as a fan himself of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

I appreciate fans being passionate. As a fan of my Browns, I’m sure I’ve said some of the same things that they’re saying about me about some of my friends who play.

McCollum also answered questions about his new role as President of the National Basketball Players Association. Specifically, McCollum talked about dealing with different players’ views on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and how he’s aware of the different opinions.

There’s 450 players with 450 different mindsets, 450 different types of upbringings, so the biggest thing is to respect everyone’s opinions and try to educate them as best you can.