The New Orleans Pelicans are going all in on their youth movement.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, New Orleans is trading C.J. McCollum Kelly Olynyk, and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the 40th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
McCollum has made the 18th most three-pointers in NBA history, spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to the Pelicans in 2021. The 33-year-old has averaged at least 20 points per game in each of the last 11 years, most recently scoring 21.1 points in 56 games for the Pelicans.
Poole is a former NBA champion, winning with the Golden State Warriors in 2022. He averaged a career-high 20.5 points and 4.5 assists on 43.3% shooting for the Wizards this season.
Pelicans Trade Experience For Youth
New Orleans finished with a 21-61 record during the 2024-25 regular season, their worst in 13 years. They did struggle with injuries, including Zion Williamson playing in just 30 games, Dejounte Murray playing 31, and Herb Jones in only 20.
The Pelicans had just one player who appeared in more than 70 games, as rookie Yves Missi led the team, playing in all but nine of their regular season matchups.
For McCollum, he came to the team in 2021 as an experienced guard known as one of the best shooters in the league. While he continuously averaged at least 20 points per game, New Orleans made the playoffs just twice, losing in the first round on both occasions.
Along with him, Williamson has been a mainstay on the team since they drafted him first overall in 2019. The forward has played in less than half of the Pelicans’ regular season games over the past six seasons. He missed the entire 2021-22 season with a foot injury and subsequent setbacks.
Now, they add Poole, who has proven to be a dynamic scorer who has yet to show any fear of taking big shots. Poole won a championship with the Warriors in 2022 before they traded him to Washington, where he has been their leading scorer over the past two seasons.
New Orleans will get relief from McCollum’s expiring contract, as he was set to make $32 million with the team next season.
Wizards Add Experience And Future Cap Space
The story for Washington has been similar to that of New Orleans over the decade. They finished this season with an 18-64 record, the worst in the East and second lowest in the NBA.
Comparably, the Wizards have been a young team that has encountered a ton of injuries. After trading away Bradley Beal in the summer of 2023, they have combined to win just 33 games in 164 regular season matchups.
Most recently, they drafted Alex Sarr with the second pick of last year’s draft. Sarr, along with Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington have strong potential, but have yet to turn their talent into significant winning.
Along with adding McCollum, Washington has made moves to add other veteran players over the past few seasons. Their roster last season also featured Jonas Valanciunas and Khris Middleton, who signed an extension with the team after the Milwaukee Bucks traded him at the deadline.
The Wizards were also one of only a few teams who had just one player appear in more than 70 regular season games, as Carrington played in all 82.
Washington will have more than $100 million in cap space after next season with McCollum on an expiring deal. They could make another trade before the draft in hopes of sending out him or Middleton to land a higher pick.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Pelicans Trade Veteran Shooter For Former NBA Champion appeared first on Heavy Sports.