C.J. McCollum will play in his first game action since Las Vegas Summer league this weekend, for the Portland Trail Blazers’ NBA Development League affiliate, Idaho Stampede.
The Blazers announced Wednesday that McCollum would be sent to Boise.
The team release did not indicate how long his stay in Idaho will be but that he will be on the court for the Stampede’s weekend doubleheader against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday and Saturday.
This weekend will be the first time McCollum will play in live game action this season after he broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot on Oct. 5 before he was able to play in the preseason.
McCollum has had a long road back, and he had been ruled out indefinitely until Wednesday’s announcement.
Although he had been practicing, there was no set return date. He has been traveling with the team as he has rehabbed and has been progressing, as he was cleared to play in five-on-five practice on Dec. 20.
The fifth metatarsal injury was the same bone that he broke last January at Lehigh, and McCollum said that he does not know if the two injuries are related. McCollum also said that there was significantly less pain involved with the most recent break.
McCollum also told media that he had a screw inserted in his foot after the first break, but that the second break did not hurt the integrity of the screw.
McCollum underwent a “non-operative” ultrasound procedure designed to stimulate bone growth on Oct. 16 after breaking his foot 10 days earlier.
Blazers coach Terry Stotts told media that McCollum had “looked good” and that he was moving and shooting well.
McCollum, the 10th pick in the 2013 draft, was the second-leading scorer in the Las Vegas Summer League averaging 21 points per game.
All D-League games can be seen live on the “nbadleague” YouTube channel.
