C.J. McCollum, Garrett Temple, Rudy Gay

Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, left, shoots over Sacramento Kings guard Garrett Temple, center, and Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Nov. 11, 2016. The Trail Blazers won 122-120.

(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldye)

TUALATIN -- CJ McCollum vividly remembers the NBA draft process.

He was a four-year college player out of Lehigh in the Patriot League and the nation's leading scorer before a broken foot ended his college career midway through his senior season. He was going to be a lottery pick, the only question was how high he'd be selected.

The same summer McCollum was set to make the jump from college to the NBA, the Sacramento Kings held the No. 7 pick in the NBA draft and were searching for their shooting guard of the future.

Sacramento was moving on from former lottery pick Tyreke Evans, second-year guard Jimmer Fredette had yet to show much promise and other veteran options weren't viable starters. The organization had a major need in the backcourt.

So the Kings brought McCollum in for a workout. Twice.

"I thought my pre-draft process was over," McCollum recalled Tuesday following Portland Trail Blazers' practice. "I was relaxing in L.A. and they wanted me to come back for a workout. I came back and they said they were going to draft me."

But sometime between that promise and the draft, the Kings had a change of heart. After dreaming about wearing a purple No. 3 Kings jersey, McCollum was forced to get back on airplanes and resume workouts and interviews with NBA teams ahead of the June draft.

"I was relaxing in L.A. getting tans and I had to go work out again," he said.

Of course, things worked out for just fine for McCollum. After the Kings selected Ben McLemore, a Kansas freshman considered one of the best shooting guard prospects in his draft class, the Blazers happily drafted McCollum at No. 10. After two seasons of waiting for a chance, McCollum had a breakout season in 2015-16, when he averaged 20.8 points and 4.3 assists and earned the NBA's Most Improved Player Award.

McLemore hasn't worked out in Sacramento. He has career averages of 9.3 points and 2.6 rebounds and has topped 25 points just three times in 257 career games. The Kings have reportedly been shopping him on the trade market since last July.

Four year's later, McCollum still seems to be taking his hard feelings out on the Kings. In eight career games against Sacramento, he is averaging 20.8 points, his highest against any opponent.

He had 35 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals in Sacramento last December, and in two games against the Kings this season, McCollum has scored 31 and 36 points.

McCollum's frustration over his draft snub four years ago isn't something that hangs over him in his day-to-day life. He signed a $106 million contract extension this summer and has blossomed into a franchise pillar with the Blazers. But on Wednesday, when the Blazers host the Kings at the Moda Center, he said he'll think back to the summer of 2013 just before tip-off.

"It's just a constant reminder that they didn't draft me," he said. "And I'm happy with where I'm at in life. You just need extra things to motivate you some days and that's one of the things I use."

-- Mike Richman

mrichman@oregonian.com

@mikegrich