CJ McCollum was not a part of the Trail Blazers' active roster Wednesday night for their game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Moda Center.
And it was not by design.
A rare and confusing set of circumstances resulted in the Blazers' starting shooting guard being left off the Blazers' active list when official game rosters were submitted one hour before tipoff.
It was not immediately clear how the mistake unfolded, but when Blazers coach Terry Stotts signed the Blazers' game roster, it included rookie Luis Montero instead of McCollum.
Pregame buzz about the snafu started about 45 minutes before tipoff when the Blazers' scoreboard displayed Allen Crabbe starting at shooting guard instead of McCollum. But at 6:36 p.m., the Blazers released a statement saying there was "an error" on the "active roster list" and McCollum would be active.
All the while, the Los Angeles Clippers' coaching staff was fuming outside the visiting locker room, unclear who was active and inactive and seemingly irked about the Blazers' mistake.
Active rosters are due one hour before tipoff and cannot be changed.
It seems as if the Blazers tried to change their error once they discovered it, but were either too late and simply denied by the Clippers. Shortly before tipoff, Stotts and CJ McCollum were involved in an intense and animated conversation with an official near the Blazers' bench.
When starting lineups were introduced at the Moda Center, McCollum was seated on the Blazers' bench, seemingly prepared to high-five and chest-bump teammates after hearing his name announced. Instead, Mark Mason, the Blazers' public address announcer, shouted Crabbe's name.
McCollum watched the first quarter in uniform from the Blazers' bench, then retreated to the Blazer's locker room. He returned to the bench in the second quarter wearing a suit.
At 8:07 p.m., the Blazers sent a second release, saying the incident occurred because of a "clerical error in the NBA's active list reporting."
