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PHOENIX SUNS

Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum suspended for season opener at Suns

The Trail Blazers will be without one of their premier players in CJ McCollum when Portland heads to Phoenix to take on the Suns.

Tyler Drake BY TYLER DRAKE
Oct 14, 2017, 2:17 PM Updated: Oct 15, 2017, 10:58 am
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(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)...

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The Portland Trail Blazers will be without one of their premier players they head to Phoenix to take on the Suns in Wednesday night’s season opener.

Guard CJ McCollum was slapped with a one-game suspension for leaving the bench during an altercation between Portland’s Caleb Swanigan and Phoenix’s Alex Len during a preseason game between the teams Oct. 11.

Here’s the incident that led to the suspension:

Although McCollum was on the court for a few seconds and didn’t seem to escalate the situation, NBA rules state a player may not leave the bench during an altercation. McCollum’s suspension without pay will take effect Wednesday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

McCollum is coming off his best season as a pro. In 80 games, he averaged 23 points per game and hit on 42.1 percent of his three-point shots.

Last season against the Suns, McCollum was able to find a rhythm, scoring more than 20 points in each of the team’s four matchups. The Blazers took the season series 3-1.

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Tyler Drake
Tyler Drake Cardinals reporter and ArizonaSports.com editor

Born and raised in Kelseyville, California, I spent most of my summers growing up in Arizona. There were a lot of trips to Globe and the East Valley. Once out of high school, I attended the University of Arizona with a major in natural resources… Read more

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Comments

9 Comments

JimminyJohnJr
JimminyJohnJr 9 years ago

He really was never going to become anything. He left too early and simply was uncoachable.

Eric Ramming
Eric Ramming 9 years ago

Yup! Unless your Tim Duncan you can't leave the bench!!

Victor Valenzuela
Victor Valenzuela 9 years ago

The Suns didn't ruin him, and if anything, they gave him a platform so he could showcase the only consistent ability he really has. That would be running to rim with recklessness. This was Archie's fourth attempt at making an NBA roster in one year. If he was ever that good, someone would've wanted to keep him by now.

The Suns don't have a history of ruining players. Usually the players which the Suns give up on end up being pretty good for other teams. Isaiah Thomas is a very recent example.

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