With 1.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks, CJ McCollum caught an inbounds pass from Dejounte Murray, took a no-dip triple to conserve time, and splashed in his third treyball of the night. Unfortunately, the New Orleans Pelicans were down by four and went on to lose the game, 136-137.
Despite the anticlimactic impact of that shot against the Mavs, that 3-pointer will forever be celebrated in the Pelicans' franchise annals, as that bucket officially made CJ New Orleans's all-time leader in threes made. He now has 629 triples under his belt with the Pelicans, one ahead of Jrue Holiday. Even more impressive, he broke Jrue's record with 247 less attempts.
With the trade deadline fast approaching, there's a very real chance that this season will be CJ's last with the Pelicans. If so, it's only fitting that he was able to etch his name into franchise history just before his departure. McCollum has long been one of the most underrated players in the league, including throughout his tenure with New Orleans. He deserves to be celebrated, especially his time with the Pelicans in which he completely evolved his game for the good of the team. No matter where he's headed next, he'll always be a franchise record-holder for the New Orleans Pelicans.
NBA insider expects the New Orleans Pelicans to make a major trade before the deadline
It's still unclear whether this will be CJ's last days with the Pelicans though. It's definitely in the best interests of both the team and McCollum for him to find a new home sooner rather than later, but only time will tell if he'll actually be traded this season. After all, CJ isn't the only veteran player that New Orleans is trying to trade, and the market might not have as many buyers as it has sellers this year.
The Pelicans have reportedly been trying to trade Brandon Ingram since before last June's draft to no avail. Now, he's been sidelined for nearly two full months, only has a half of a season left on his contract, and is seeking a four-year, $200 million extension. That doesn't exactly scream prime trade target. Apparently, the Toronto Raptors might be willing to bite, although New Orleans should use Ingram's contract to trade for De'Aaron Fox in my personal opinion.
At the least, ESPN's Bobby Marks expects the Pelicans to make some kind of major trade before the deadline this season. His reasoning isn't rock-solid though, as he surmises that they'll be big players at the deadline because they need to shed a little over $2 million in salary to duck the luxury tax. New Orleans could easily accomplish that without making a "major trade." Still, the situations surrounding their salary cap table and Brandon Ingram's future with the team suggest to Marks that the Pelicans will trade BI before the deadline rather than re-sign him to a short-term extension to find a better deal for him later on.