On Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks came to terms with CJ McCollum on a one-year contract extension to keep him in Atlanta. McCollum had a strong close to the season for the Hawks after being traded there as part of the Trae Young trade with the Washington Wizards in January.
Now, more information has come to light on Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh’s rationale for the extension.
“Onsi Saleh talked about bringing CJ McCollum back and referred to him as ‘the ultimate professional’ and later said ‘the guy can hoop.’ Also notes the continuity it provides to have him back and also having a full training camp with him in place as a positive,” reported Brad Rowland of the Locked on Hawks podcast on Bluesky.
McCollum had a rough first few games as a member of the Hawks but quickly turned things around and became a key piece of the team’s late-season surge up the standings, helping Atlanta avoid the play-in tournament for the first time in five years. In the first round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks, McCollum was arguably the Hawks’ best player, hitting clutch buckets down the stretch of Games 2 and 3 to give Atlanta a surprising 2-1 lead in the series.
While the Knicks would dominate the series from there, Atlanta still ended up being the team to take New York the furthest during their ensuing march to the NBA title.
McCollum proved last year that he still has plenty left in the tank as a perimeter scorer and playmaker, and he certainly helps stabilize the Hawks’ offense, especially when things break down in the half-court.
In any case, the Hawks will now look ahead to the NBA Draft, which is slated for Tuesday evening.
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