With the NBA Finals in the rearview and the 2025 NBA Draft on deck, the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards didn’t wait for the lottery clock to start ticking.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Pelicans have agreed to trade veterans CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Wizards in exchange for former NBA champion Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the 40th overall pick in tomorrow’s draft.
Breaking: The Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, sources tell @ShamsCharania.
— ESPN (@espn) June 24, 2025
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The deal ends McCollum’s three-and-a-half season stint in New Orleans. The 12-year veteran averaged 21.1 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 56 games last season.
Since joining the Pelicans in 2022, McCollum helped lead the team to two postseason appearances, posting averages of 21.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.2 rebounds across 223 games.
The 33-year-old McCollum brings proven scoring and veteran leadership to a rebuilding Wizards squad that finished with the second-worst record in the league last season at 18-64.
Olynyk, who averaged 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 20 games with New Orleans, also joins Washington. The 33-year-old Canadian big man is now set to suit up for his eighth NBA team — and his third in the past three seasons.
On the other end of the deal, Poole heads to his third team after averaging 18.8 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds over 146 total games with the Wizards.
The 25-year-old, who helped Golden State capture the 2022 NBA title, is expected to bring youth and scoring to a Pelicans side that also features Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray.
New Orleans missed the playoffs last season after finishing with a West second-worse record at 21-61.
Bey, the 19th pick in the 2020 draft, missed the entire 2024–25 season while recovering from a torn ACL. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 14.1 points in his career and, if healthy, adds size and versatility to New Orleans’ wing rotation.
Washington now holds the Nos. 6, 18 and 40 picks on the first day of the two-day 2025 NBA Draft, which begins Thursday and continues on June 27.
New Orleans, meanwhile, owns the Nos. 7 and 23 selections in the first round.
