Blockbuster Trade: Trail Blazers Send CJ McCollum To Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans were desperate for "high-level" guard help, and the Portland Trail Blazers are holding a fire sale. Together, they've got themselves a deal: CJ McCollum heads to New Orleans as part of a major 7-player trade:

Full trade, per sources:
Blazers: Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, 2022 protected first-round pick, two second-round picks.
Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, Tony Snell.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky and Didi Louzada plus 3 draft picks are moving to Portland, while Larry Nance and Tony Snell join McCollum on their way to The Big Easy, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The 1st-round pick going to the Blazers will be in 2022 if it's between No. 5 and No. 14, otherwise it'll move to a future draft.

In New Orleans, at some point in the future, a starting five of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, defensive specialist Herbert Jones and now CJ McCollum would be a serious five to deal with. 

CJ is headed to NOLA!

The Trail Blazers are trading CJ McCollum to the Pelicans in exchange for Josh Hart and draft compensation, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/hYDvjMbnYN

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 8, 2022

"That's a lot of firepower," said NBA Radio analyst and ex-player Tim Legler. Of course, getting Zion back in the lineup would be the big trick, but that's a story for another day.

The Pelicans take on the $100M CJ McCollum contract that runs through 2024. They are desperate to get into the Play-In, however, and this might help push them through. The Pels are currently 10th, just clinging to the last play-in spot. 

The other question we'll be watching over the next 48 hours: Are the Trail Blazers done yet?

Photo Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports