Clippers get last laugh for dodging bullet Hawks willingly chose to eat

Had the LA Clippers’ winning sequence taken any longer, the front office may have made a move for CJ McCollum from the Washington Wizards. He was eventually sent to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the deal for Trae Young, but at one point, the Clippers needed a guard, and McCollum was among the prime targets.

Furthermore, the Clippers met their match with Kobe Sanders and came to accept that the 2025 second-round pick was better for the team than McCollum and a spontaneous, adequate replacement for Chris Paul and Bradley Beal.

Yet, for some reason, even with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels, the Hawks preferred to replace Young for a guard they did not need, instead of another one of Washington’s expiring contracts like Khris Middleton.

Thus, the Clippers remaining off the phone towards extensive discussions around McCollum was an excellent decision, as the veteran guard has still not won a game with the Hawks; he has been atrocious in four consecutive battles.

The way CJ McCollum is playing will not lead the Hawks to wins

If Quin Snyder plans to feed CJ McCollum heavy minutes, the best chance the Atlanta Hawks have at winning will be through luck. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, but usually wins take skill, preparation, and, most importantly, quality possessions on both sides of the ball.

However, the Portland Trail Blazers’ legend is just dribbling the air out of the ball, then taking a shot attempt. He seems to simply just want to score, and in the final possession of the Hawks’ loss versus the Milwaukee Bucks, there was a chance to snap a three-game losing streak, but McCollum bobbled the ball and then tried to drill a double-clutch mid-range jumper.

Additionally, despite playing less than Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the last four games, McCollum has the highest usage percentage on the Hawks, by quite a bit.

He is at 31.2%, and in second place is Johnson at 23.7; this is concerning, as the 24-year-old wing is Atlanta’s face of the franchise, and on pace to make his first all-star cut this season.

McCollum’s efficiencies are also difficult to look at, as with the Hawks, he is taking 15.4 shots per game, and shooting 40.3% from the field and 18.5% from beyond the arc.

That said, the Clippers fortunately missed out on some serious trouble with McCollum. LA would have had the right idea, yet in the end, a downgrade, particularly on offense, would have been presented.