CJ McCollum says he’s very close with Zion Williamson

When asked about the issue, however, McCollum refuted the talks and shared how Williamson respects him and his approach. “I think that he does. That’s a really good question. From a respect standpoint, he respects my approach, he respects my resume,” McCollum said when asked if Zion listens to him, via The Ryen Russillo Podcast. “We’re very close and we very much so communicate often more than the public eye would understand. If you asked him, he would say absolutely.”
Source: Angelo Guinhawa @ Clutch Points

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Sean Highkin @highkin
For subscribers: the latest on where the Blazers stand less than 48 hours before the draft, and why I think Zion Williamson might be the option with the most legs if they do decide to move the third pick
rosegardenreport.com/p/trail-blazer… – 10:31 PM

Steve Bulpett @SteveBHoop
Is Portland keeping Damian Lillard?
Is it time for New Orleans to move Zion?
Would Draymond really leave the Warriors?
League sources weigh in on some of the key issues. New from @HeavyOnSports:
bit.ly/42QmU07 – 5:14 PM

Sean Deveney @SeanDeveney
It’s all about the tax.
@SteveBHoop talked to league execs for the latest on why the @MiamiHEAT passed on Brad Beal (no, not Damian Lillard) and what’s up with Zion …
More at @HeavyOnSports:
heavy.com/sports/miami-h… – 4:03 PM

Jake Madison @NOLAJake
Locked On Pelicans is live!
🏀 Making sense of the latest Zion Williamson trade rumors
🏀 Bradley Beal trade impact on the Pels
🏀 Could the Pelicans go big?
🎧 link.chtbl.com/LOPelicans
Watch on YouTube!
📺 bit.ly/LOPYouTube pic.twitter.com/ey8JkqADoF – 3:30 PM

Anthony Puccio @APOOCH
Zion was drafted 1st overall on this day 4 years ago.
He’s played in 114 games since, averaging 25.8 points and 7 rebounds on 60.5% shooting pic.twitter.com/qXiTj4Gs3U – 1:04 PM

Henry Abbott @TrueHoop
Monday’s show was full of Beal, Dame, Zion, and draft talk!
You can listen on your preferred platform or watch @jshector @coachthorpe and I on YouTube.
🎧: link.chtbl.com/TrueHoopSocial1
🎥: youtu.be/vv0eJcWrKgg – 12:30 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
“The biggest question surrounding all this hysteria shouldn’t be how likely the Pelicans are to trade Zion. It should be why the discussion has been allowed to linger as long as it has”
So, what’s really going on with all these Zion/Pelicans rumors?
theathletic.com/4624176/2023/0… – 12:02 PM

Mike Prada @MikePradaNBA
“The biggest question surrounding all this hysteria shouldn’t be how likely the Pelicans are to trade Zion. It should be why the discussion has been allowed to linger as long as it has”
@WillGuillory on what’s really going on with Zion and the Pels.
theathletic.com/4624176/2023/0… – 11:52 AM

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season (a 90-game sample size),
Zion Williamson has averaged:
26.7 points,
7.1 rebounds,
4.0 assists,
1.0 steals,
in just 33 minutes per game,
while shooting over 61% (!!) from the floor
pic.twitter.com/WigoOkENN7 – 10:43 AM

Nick Wright @getnickwright
Today’s @WhatsWrightShow starts right now on YouTube, discussing the Beal trade, Zion’s future, Ja’s suspension & all things NBA Draft, plus a little NFL offseason. You can watch right here youtube.com/watch?v=06a83O… – 10:34 AM

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
* new words *
actually about 3,000 words on the pros and cons of the Knicks trading for Zion Williamson
And what New York would likely have to offer to bring Zion from the Big Easy to the Big Apple
tommybeer.substack.com/p/shouldcouldw… – 10:26 AM

Tom Ziller @teamziller
Wrote about Draymond Green’s market position w/ or w/out the Warriors, plus Silver invoking the spirit of Stern in his Morant suspension and everything I’m going to say about Zion’s off-court stuff ziller.substack.com/p/draymond-gre… pic.twitter.com/wxDZDGgbmo – 8:44 AM

Sean Highkin @highkin
A thing to keep in mind: Joe Cronin and David Griffin already did one big deal together (CJ McCollum/Josh Hart) that both sides came away happy with. Easier to do another deal now than, say, trying to do something with another team known for asking for a lot at all time. – 3:17 PM

More on this storyline

They joined, among others, the lights of CJ McCollum (President), Andre Iguodala (Director), Chrysa Chin (Director), Serge Ibaka (Director), and Tamika L. Tremaglio (NBPA Executive Director), providing “strategic oversight to the NBPA Foundation to expand both current and former NBA players’ philanthropic footprint globally”. -via EuroHoops.net / June 20, 2023

First Take: . @CJMcCollum weighs in on Dame’s future in Portland: “The market will dictate what happens here. … If I was a betting man, I would say this is the last that we’ve seen of him [in Portland].” -via Twitter / June 7, 2023

CJ McCollum: Sick conversation 😂 heard it goes down like almond milk 😂 -via Twitter @CJMcCollum / May 31, 2023

From there, speculation about Zion Williamson’s future with the Pelicans has run rampant. There have been new reports from different sources daily about the likelihood of Zion being on the move and the level of interest New Orleans would have in making such a deal. Ultimately, Zion getting traded before Thursday’s draft is fairly unlikely, multiple league sources tell The Athletic. -via The Athletic / June 20, 2023

The Pelicans have been enamored with Henderson for quite a while. They were able to see plenty of him while reviewing tape of his former G League Ignite teammate Dyson Daniels, who New Orleans took with the No. 8 overall pick in last year’s draft. But to this point, the Pelicans have yet to even include Williamson in any formal offers made to the teams holding top-3 picks, league sources tell The Athletic. -via The Athletic / June 20, 2023

Much of that tension is centered around the frayed relationship between Williamson’s camp and Aaron Nelson, who has been in charge of the medical/training staff during Zion’s first four seasons. In a shakeup first reported by NOLA.com, Nelson is no longer expected to lead the Pelicans’ medical/training staff this upcoming season. -via The Athletic / June 20, 2023

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CJ McCollum says he’s very close with Zion Williamson

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

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