“They Played Us” – CJ McCollum Sympathizes with LeBron James and Miami Heat Over NBA’s Hasty Restart

The new NBA season begins on December 22, 2020. It is the quickest turnaround in NBA history, from the time between the end of the previous season and the start of the new season. Trail Blazers’ CJ McCollum has shared his concerns about this.

Many people were surprised by the quick turnaround of just 70 days. The NBA Finals concluded in October, and now the new season begins in December.

While the NBA and the players’ association agreed to start the season in December, the players were not happy about the quick turnaround. The two parties compromised due to the amount of money the NBA stands to lose if they start the season later.

The players still aren’t entirely sure about the NBA starting the season early. The Portland Trail Blazers‘ CJ McCollum spoke to Complex Sports about the NBA season starting early. McCollum suggested that the NBA misled the players about when the season would start.

McCollum said, “They played us, to be honest. We were not supposed to start this fast for obvious reasons. Based on what we were told, it was like December – no chance, it’s not possible.” 

CJ McCollum talks NBA restart

McCollum said that the initial expectation was the season would start after Christmas. He shared his sympathies for players of the Lakers and the Heat, who were in the finals, and said, “To (now) December 22nd before Christmas, before it was like Christmas, January, February. Now it’s before Christmas. 70 days for Bron and the Heat players. I don’t even know if Dragić’s foot is healed.” 

McCollum spoke about his own injury problems, and how the early restart forced him to speed up his recovery process. He said, “That’s how fast this turnaround is. You’ve got guys that got hurt and are trying to recover. I broke my back, and I was thinking about my timeline in my head ‘perfect, like I got January and February’. And then It’s like ‘oh no, I got to speed up my recovery, I got to transition faster into contact’.”

Aside from those problems, McCollum talked about the COVID protocols that the NBA would put in place to protect the players and other staff members. Surprisingly, McCollum noted that he knew no more than the general public, suggesting that there was no protocol in place. He said, “I know what you know… and we start in three weeks”.

McCollum’s concerns shed light on the nervousness amongst NBA players. Additionally, the lack of COVID protocols from the NBA raises nervousness among players. The NBA should send protocols as soon as possible for the smooth continuation of the league.