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Mailbag: Trading Whiteside for McCollum is harder than it seems

Q: Here’s a trade idea. CJ McCollum and Mason Plumlee for Hassan Whites- (M. Amb)

Woah, woah, woah. Let me stop you right there. Alright, I know I’ve brought up CJ McCollum as a possible trade target in the past, and have mentioned a swap of McCollum for Hassan Whiteside straight up.

After digging into the rules, I’ve found that it’s not so easy. McCollum is on a poison pill contract, meaning that trading McCollum this season would be extremely difficult.

Here’s CBA expert Larry Coon on what a poison pill contract is, and how it can be traded:

… when a team extends a first round draft pick’s rookie scale contract and then trades the player between the date the extension is signed and the date it takes effect.