(The original article was published on October 12 by Marc J. Spears on the Andscape website. The article is mainly written by Pelican player mccolum)
CJ-mccolum has always been a person who attaches great importance to time planning and schedule, and it is also very easy to explain this point.
Mccolum is a father and husband. He lives in New Orleans and owns a vineyard with his wife Elise in Oregon. He serves as the chairman of NBA players’ union. Recently, he also completed his first personal podcasting show in ESPN, and his most well-known identity-the star guard of pelicans. Among them, the 31-year-old mccolum is most confident about his achievements in NBA as a player and Pelican. He is looking forward to changing the fate of pelican with his teammates in the new season. In addition to the above, mccolum will also record the journey of the whole season in the form of a diary together with the Andscape website.
The stars who have participated in this activity before include Dream Green, Wensman-Carter, Trey-Yang, Van frit, Fox, Corning, Wiseman and Josh Jackson, in the new season, through mccolum’s monthly written records, he can have a deeper understanding of his life inside and outside the stadium.
The following is the first diary of mccolum’s new season:
I am more comfortable living in New Orleans. When I first came here, I felt very comfortable because I felt love and support. In fact, I am needed by the team. I am also eager for this feeling of being needed. Maybe I have never played like this since I graduated from college. I was excited about my future in Pelican. When I settled down here, I began to play games, participate in team training, and deepen my understanding of each other with my teammates, after attending various dinners and activities, I realized that the City of New Orleans was much better than I expected, and realized that the city had more details than I expected. There were not only two streets, Bourbon and Canal, it’s not just what I used to know when I came here as a visiting player. The love and support expressed by New Orleans to me and the friendly atmosphere in the southern region have never been seen before.
I am very grateful to be here. I am really happy and excited. Before that, I said I was very happy to have the opportunity to play here, settle down in New Orleans with my family and become a member of the community. Both on the court and outside the court are integrated into the city. When I talk about it, I can do it, not to win the favor of others, but to love it from the bottom of my heart. I am very happy and comfortable. More importantly, the wife and children are also very happy, so is our dog. For my career, it is a very smooth transition. Of course, the hard part also exists, just like getting married and having children. When I came to New Orleans, I had to seek some resources that I was used to having. I have been a pioneer for nearly 10 years, and now everything must start again, finding many things I lack and what my new home needs. However, the most important thing is that family members feel comfortable, and they also find a good house. Later life will be easy and comfortable.
I am very grateful for the smooth transition of life. To be precise, it was September 4 that we officially moved to New Orleans, which was the day when Louisiana State University and Florida University held rugby matches. On that day, the vitality of the city, the crowds on the road and all the pleasant things around me were like breathing a big breath of fresh air for me. The weather here is very good. It hasn’t rained since I came to New Orleans. It’s incredible to think about it. I like to walk my dog when I’m free and go out for a stroll. There is also a swimming pool in my backyard, which is something I have never seen before. All these are the reasons why I like here from the bottom of my heart, but the greatest happiness comes from the overflowing joy of my wife’s life.
People usually don’t understand the human factor in an NBA deal: your family also has a job, and your child may be going to school. Fortunately, my child is still very young. However, I had to leave the child when he was only one month old. Because of the transaction, the child was born on January 10 and I had to leave him on February 10. I left all these difficulties and difficulties to my wife, because taking care of the children would delay a lot of work, which was a sacrifice for her. So after moving to New Orleans, she will be more comfortable and find a job that can continue her dental career. I am happy for her. Although my career development has changed her life track, the path she is practicing and the achievements she has made, but now she has found that kind of happiness and joy. She can not only enjoy the role of mother, but also continue to work, and at the same time she can give her husband support. Therefore, this transformation is a cool aspect in this process.
Compared with life, the part about basketball is very simple. I have always told others that I never worry about the basketball part. When I was traded to Pelican, I knew nothing about the tactics of this team, after coming here, I can still play directly. After being traded, he arrived in New Orleans in the early morning of I am and played at 6 o’clock that night. Because I am focused enough on the game, I have absolute confidence in my determination, method, professionalism and love for basketball. I have never questioned this and have never wavered, so I won’t worry about basketball problems. It can be said that basketball is the simplest part of my life, and other things I do are more difficult. Career, life, being the chairman of the players’ union, and being a husband and father are all very difficult things. You must have a more cautious plan for time, more participation is needed to ensure competence.
While basketball doesn’t need you to do too much, just play and do what you need to do in the team, and basketball is only a part of life. Living at home is different. There is no clear division of labor. You have to invest more. Making adjustments is the key to balancing work and life. The role of father is even more so. Time and energy have to be tilted towards family. The coolest thing is that I gradually find out how to play a father well. You can never figure out the difficult problem of life, but you must understand how to face difficulties and how to solve these troubles to get life back on track. When I was recording these words, my wife was discussing with interior designers to finalize things like carpets. Wife, she enjoyed these things very much, which made her feel very proud, and I would sit behind her and look at her and say, “these jobs are worth it for the happy moments in life later.”
I said a long time ago that I wanted to sign a long-term contract again. I am not joking. I like a stable life, which is the most important thing for me. New Orleans can bring me stability, love and opportunity. The talent of Pelican squad is obvious. After becoming one of them, it will also contribute to the current and future success of the team. From top to bottom, the management of the team is willing to do what they say. I am very grateful to them for being honest with me and telling me the current situation and future development direction of the team. I hope I can exert my influence to respond. They have all made their promises to me, giving me a clear future. As you know, it is difficult for commercial alliances to have anything guaranteed. Promises in life and basketball cannot always be fulfilled as promised. The Pelican management did it, which was really cool.
My wife is also very happy. If she is not happy here, I will leave at any time. I like New Orleans, but you all know that my wife can live a happy life. When the wife accepted this place, she would say, “I like it here and enjoy the life here. I want to keep it here and want to do such and such things here.” Pelican General Manager Trajan Langdon, vice president of basketball operations David Griffin, coach Willie Green, team boss Mrs. Benson and other management personnel of the team played a huge role in the process of renewing my contract. They knew that there were still two years left in my contract and there was no need to renew me now. But they chose to renew the contract in advance, and I also chose to give each other the greatest degree of trust. I am very grateful and happy for this. They know what I can do and what kind of player I am. And I have seen what the team has done and what it can offer. I am very happy to continue this happy relationship and look forward. We have the opportunity to do something very, very special, something that has never happened in this city.
I like those days of playing for pioneers, which was great. I still love that group of guys, the team staff, and the City of Portland. I entered the marriage hall there, welcomed the birth of my first child, bought a piece of land there and learned about wine. Many first times in my life have been given to Portland. I will always remember these memories and become the flavoring agent of my future life. When a new chapter comes, as a person, a player and a man, a new evolution has also come. I am very grateful to spend such a time in Portland. The difference after coming to Pelican is that obviously the 31-year-old veteran has become the voice leader of the team. I have played in NBA for a long time. From this perspective, I may be the most successful in the current career of pelicans. Nance played in the finals, so he and I should have the richest playoff experience. I have been in the playoffs for 9 consecutive years. The new season will be the 10th year. I know how to play at the critical moment. I know what it feels like to succeed at the critical moment, I also know the taste of losing at the critical moment. I have experienced and played various roles on the bench and have not been activated by the team before. I have enjoyed the feeling that the ball rights were in my hands at the end of the match. As a role player, I stayed silently at the bottom corner waiting for opportunities.
The difference after coming to Pelican is that the ball will be more in my hands. The talent of our team is obvious. There are Zion and Ingram. We have world-class players, while I am the decision makers of the whole team can control the situation of the stadium. I have done these things in the pioneers, but those are mainly Lillard’s work, not mine. My job is to score points and choose a guard. When the team needed me to lead, it turned out that I did well. I just did what the team needed me to do, but I was not the only one who spoke. I like to lead by example and demonstrate my ability. After coming to Pelican, the team talked to me. They hoped that I could stick to these things.
I enjoy this feeling very much. However, you don’t want to be the only voice in the dressing room, nor do you want your voice to be the biggest from beginning to end. So sometimes I will say nothing, just look at it, and even sometimes the coach will ask me, “Don’t you have anything to say?” “No, I have nothing to say.” I don’t want to be the person who has been talking all the time, speaking when needed and expressing opinions when needed. Young players need to understand the importance of this. Sometimes you have to listen and watch, you can’t keep your mouth open. That’s how I came here.
I own a wine brand: 91 McCollum, founded in 202020. wine has been brewed since 2016 and a batch of wine is launched every year. There are pinot noir red wine, Chardonnay white wine and rose pink wine. On my birthday, I opened a bottle of blanc de blanc (champagne brewed in France white grape). On our 30th birthday in 2021, we bought a 318-acre vineyard in Carlton, Oregon, which opened up the whole industry chain of planting, brewing and selling. It is planned to add 23 acres next year, and 60 or 70 acres may be added later. Slowly grow bigger and stronger, and build a wine business with full coverage from planting to bottling sales.
We have a nursery that sells Japanese maple leaves and some hybrid plant varieties. We are currently looking for Dahlia and some other plants. The name of the nursery is Ruby, which is actually the name of the dog whose wife has passed away, and the wife likes plants and flowers, so she named the nursery Ruby. This is also reflected in my the wine bottle, with a anthurium printed on it, which is my wife’s favorite flower, and the wine is also what my wife took me to understand.
I am also the chairman of the players’ union. As we all know, we are currently negotiating the labor agreement. This job is so busy that we have to hire a lot of people, such as the president of operations Tamika Tremaglio, Think450 (responsible for the authorization and business development of the players union) and other members of the players union. I need to hold a conference call with many people, Adam Xiao Hua (NBA President), Tamika Tremaglio (player union operation president), and other people involved in my business activities, and those who participated in my wife’s business activities.
I am restaurant owner also works in real estate and private equity. In addition to the Standard & Poor’s 500 index (stock), I have about 28 other investment projects. Therefore, my life is very busy and there are a lot of things to do on the field. At the same time, I also have the identities of father, husband, son and brother. Time planning is very important to me, and I will make careful use of it. I always go to bed early and get up early, make the best use of the nine-to-five time, and give my wife and son as much time as possible to accompany them. The role change during the training camp was quite difficult, and there were many things in life. Fortunately, I can achieve a better balance now. It is very important that I can get the help I need both on and off the court. It is also important to keep healthy habits. I have done a good job in this aspect. Now I am trying to stop saying one more word to good things so that I can focus on making good things great.
Being a father is the best thing in the world. Nothing can be compared. This is the best thing I have ever experienced in my life. It can make me awake from my sleep, and it can also make me sleep contentedly. The highlight of the day is the moment when the child wakes up and falls asleep. The rest of the time is ordinary life, which is carried out around children. I have done a lot of things in my life, achieved a lot, and had an excellent career. But all this is not as good as the child’s eyes looking at you. He knows that you are his father and that you are by his side and can rely on you unconditionally.
When I was traded by the pioneers, my family knew I was leaving and chose to compromise. This is exactly the hardest part after being traded. I never worry about basketball. I know I am good at basketball. Even the game has become my way to relax. I don’t need to think about other things in 90 minutes, just focus on playing good football. So leaving your wife and children is the hardest part of the whole process. You will begin to have the idea of “I will leave my wife and children for a basketball match”. You will think so, so it’s tough. But as a man, you have to go to work, and there is a balance between work and family. I have to ask myself from time to time, have I neglected my concern for my family recently? Do you only care about work? Can you stay at home for more time? Then you will realize that it is difficult to do everything in your life. You want to maximize what you are good at and care about and accompany the people around you. This matter needs to be balanced. Where can you see your time and energy.
Regarding the trajectory of my career, I hope to maximize the use of the peak period and extend it as long as possible. When I can’t play, I will choose to retire. My children can experience the feeling of my father playing in NBA and watch some live games. He knew that his father would accompany him all the time, would send him to study, would tell him stories every day, would take out the ball and play with him, and would sing to him. As long as time permits, father will accompany him. He will also understand that his father must play basketball and run some businesses. When my father takes a nap, he tries not to disturb him. He will come to play with him when he is busy, and he will find out how much his father loves him.
Oh, by the way, I forgot that there are so many things to do that I still work for ESPN. Yes, I signed a contract with ESPN, which is my dream. When I brought this contract to my wife, she also agreed. I asked her, “What do you think? I have done a lot of things.” She replied to me, “If we can plan these things well, make sure these things conform to our lifestyle. And I hope you can be a competent father, which is what you want, so how do you plan?” Therefore, the final contract is very flexible, and I still have enough time to stay with my family. I have reported the finals and summer league matches, and recently I have just launched a personal podcast: CJ McCollum Show. The first guest was Ingram. It was really cool to invite him to sit down and talk, because he basically didn’t communicate with the media. He spoke freely on my podcast, which is really great.
I have been watching SportsCenter programs since I was young, and as you all know, my major is news. Therefore, it is really great to work for a world-class company. I have the opportunity to see how they operate behind the scenes. I have even tasted what life is like after retirement. Start thinking about what I want to do after I retire? How many jobs do I plan to do? What kind of work can make me have enough flexibility and freedom and have time to play with my children? Maybe one day I will have another daughter or son. So, before I signed the contract with ESPN, I talked to Reddick and some insiders.
Here, I would like to thank Jay rose, I am his big fan. I also like Reddick’s way of thinking. He is not afraid to express his views in front of others. Although he is arrogant, he knows basketball and is devoted enough to his father and husband. Riddick’s son Knox would shout at his father on the TV. Riddick was proud of it and he would spend a lot of time with his children. At The same time, I also have a podcasting program: Old Man and The Three. I want to ask him how he did it? How much time is left at ordinary times? Appear on TV at 8 o’clock every morning. In this case, do you still have time to pick up and drop the children to and from school?
I have been planning my life since I was 15 years old. What kind of life do I want? How long do I want to live after I have children? When are you going to get married? How long can I play in NBA? How long do you want to continue your career? What should I do after the ball cannot be played? Now I am also considering these things to ensure that everything I do is consistent with my wife, our lifestyle, our children and my goals. Although there are occasional deviations, you must adjust back and do something really important to you.
I am not worried about the next labor agreement negotiation. We have had some positive discussions. Everything is moving in the right direction, and the management is very clear about the current situation. Know the NBA situation and how good the current game is. Look at how much the alliance earned last year under the impact of the new coronavirus, a total of 8.9 billion dollars. NBA is very successful in other countries. You can often see NBA games on TV all over the world. More and more players from different countries and regions join us, we also held the African basketball league, and our sports channel also had news about Asian and European leagues.
The venues of the competition are becoming more and more magnificent, and James is already talking about wanting to have a Las Vegas team. I think under such circumstances, we can achieve many goals to make NBA games better and better.
Tamika (president of player union operations) often communicates with me several times a week and will arrange regular meetings to maintain stable communication. We will arrange several phone calls to analyze the situation in the alliance, such as the survey results of Sun boss Robert Savo and what content to publish, so as to better deal with these problems. The first step is to understand all the objective facts before we can begin to talk about their own views. Analyze what these problems mean to our games, our league matches, our players and fans, and then discuss how to solve this problem properly and quickly.
Tamika has always been an elegant person with strategic thinking. He will make decisions after careful consideration and act in an orderly manner. She can understand her goals with the league, speak from the perspective of the players, and this is the first time she has dealt with this situation, so I think she has done very well. This has never happened in the league since Donald Sterling, the former Clippers boss.
When the report about Sun boss Savo came out, I was training. After the training, I saw that there were about 7 missed calls on my mobile phone, but none of them were from my wife. I felt very strange at that time. There was Paul (Sun Guard), Tamika, and Xiao Hua. I want to figure out what happened and call them back first. After reading the short message, I knew something had happened this time. Call Paul, this time he is training; Call Xiao Hua again, he is in a meeting; Call Tamika again, she is also in a meeting.
So I continued to call Tamika to communicate about the development of the matter, and then called the lawyer. Then I received the investigation record and planned to go home first to read it. When I got home, I was a father. I accompanied my wife and children first, and made up two hours after fighting with my son for a while. After reading all the investigation reports, wow, I understand why there are so many missed calls today.
The next day, as usual, after waking up beside the child, he did some physical therapy first, then strength training. After that, I arranged a phone call and talked with Xiao Hua. While doing strength training, I called Xiao Hua to talk about the development of the matter, listen to his opinions and how we should deal with it. After hanging up the phone, he called Paul. He happened to be a player of the sun. Listen to his opinion. After all, we have experienced this kind of thing. Finally, I will call Tamika to discuss how to deal with this situation, what our ability can do, how to promote it, what we need to do in NBA, and after a comprehensive understanding of the situation, what kind of response should be made.
I am people who respect the facts, I don’t want to stand up and make a painless statement. When this happens, I need to digest it first. I don’t want to make a decision based on a sudden brain fever to ensure that every decision is as correct as possible. Of course I have my own ideas, but this is not my own business, it’s about the whole league, it’s about the whole Suns. This is a problem at the NBA level. I cannot bear the consequences of wrong decisions.
So I need some time to think about it and finally decided to issue a joint statement with NBA officials. Paul spoke, James also spoke, and many other players also expressed their direct views. Tamika was interviewed, and she hoped to promote the solution of the problem through interviews. So I stepped back behind the scenes and Tamika spoke on behalf of all the players’ unions. The development of things later was very fast. He made three phone calls with Xiao Hua, and the communication content was very meticulous. After suspending the labor negotiation meeting, Sun boss Savo announced that he would sell his team. All the dust has settled, and we can continue the labor negotiation again. Thank Savo for realizing that his decision is the best result for everyone. I sincerely wish you a smooth future.
This is the whole process of this matter. Many phone calls were made, many strategic plans were made, and many rules and terms were understood. What would happen if Savo was tried to withdraw through voting, how many tickets are needed to pass and how long does the whole process take. If the situation escalates and goes to court, just like impeaching someone, both parties need to provide testimony. Ordinary fans don’t pay much attention to these. In fact, Sun boss Savo has this right. It seems that your house is yours, and no one can take it away casually. They have to take you to court for this House. So this is also a hurried learning process. I appreciate Xiao Hua’s behavior of publishing the survey results, because the rugby league next door will never do this. No matter how long the investigation report is, they will not publish a word to the public. So taking this opportunity, we can also know what happened behind the scenes and the whole process of the matter.
I was not shocked by the survey results of Sun boss Savo, because I read the records of ESPN reporter Holmes. I have played in NBA for 10 years, and these things are not unusual to me. Maybe an ordinary fan has heard the story of Sun boss Savo. Therefore, the survey results themselves did not surprise me. I was surprised that this problem had been solved, and this situation would still happen afterwards. I was surprised that this kind of thing had lasted for so long. It’s really disappointing, but think that as a black American, there are too many racist words around him. Maybe these people didn’t do it intentionally, but they did say that gender discrimination was the same, so I was not surprised after the survey results came out, only thought that this situation was very bad. What I think is, if you say such words, you should be fired directly, of course, but who has the right to fire the boss?
I don’t know when Savo will sell the Suns and how long will it take to collect 3.54 billion dollars? The right candidate should be quick, but there is still a review process to go, and the alliance must approve the deal. Who can say the exact time? But I think for everyone, the team sells as fast as possible.
If you are not interested in Pelican games, you will be interested in several games. Our team is excellent and young, full of sports talent, experienced veteran leaders and players who have experienced many battles. They have all experienced the experience of the competition and are full of desire for victory, not afraid of any opponent. Everyone focuses on the competition, believing that they will see rewards when they give, and everyone does so. We have an excellent coach, the coach team has been confirmed, the management is ready to go, and everyone is ready to pursue victory at all costs. We have Galaxies, Stars and satellites, and all the conditions needed to succeed in NBA.
Zion, we all call him “Exterminator”. He was so special that he was hot, hungry and competitive. The average score is 27 points field goal percentage 60%, and this kind of ruling level is shown at a young age. I have only seen it in the other two players, 20-year-old James and Dong cheqi. What level are these two players? Hall of Fame. So I can see a young child who learns more mature ways of playing and grows up gradually, and has a deeper understanding of basketball career.
We will talk about our expectations for the team in places that people can’t see. In fact, our internal expectations are much higher than the external expectations for us, and our concentration on the game is also underestimated.
As for coach Willy, I hope to see him grow more and be more comfortable in the role of coach. This is his second year as head coach. He has great rosters, rich experience and higher expectations. He will understand the goals of the team, understand the team’s lineup, think about how to make us play our best and how to deal with various adversities. Last year, the Pelican started badly and played well in the finishing stage, so I will look forward to a good new season. Willy is a consistent person who can keep calm in the face of any situation. I hope he can perform well in the coaching position and help us win more games.
I expect Ingram to be himself, stick to himself and focus on basketball. If you follow my podcasting program, you can understand his personality. Ingram is a basketball fool. He loves playing basketball very much and likes to analyze matches. He can hardly breathe without basketball matches. I hope he can become the best of himself and the most dedicated of himself. After all, he tasted the taste of victory on the playoff stage, which is a place he has never been. Ingram has always been excellent, and no one really realizes this. The main reason is that he did not show himself in the key playoff games.
If you ask me where is Ingram’s weakness? I’m sorry, I really don’t know, he can do everything in my eyes. He can score in the way you can think of. He can grab the rebound and pass the ball, and he is 2.03 meters tall. Dude, he is a big trouble.
As for Wen banyama, I have been observing him for more than two years. My brother plays basketball in Europe, so I am very familiar with the basketball game there. I saw the progress and growth of Wen banama. After he trained with a trainer in Dallas for the first time, the trainer released some video clips. Steps, skills, movements, attitude, consciousness and beauty, I know very well how these will be transformed into competition movements when you find the rhythm and state. Basketball in Europe is different from that in America, and the rhythm of the game is very different. But I have to say that Wen Banya Ma is really special. I have never seen such a player. I have never seen his key skills in players of such height. He can make the players who are more than 2 meters look small. He can shoot fengshui ball, and have offensive steps to block and split. The ability to cap is still first-class. What can I say? The team that won the first prize was so lucky.
Finally, I want to say that I like the food, people, weather and sports here in New Orleans. Besides, I am looking forward to playing on the playoff stage again and playing in front of all Pelican fans. This feeling will be great!
Original: Marc J. Spears
Compile: Li Taibai
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Player autographed