The NBA never stops, as trades continue to roll in. On June 22, Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets. Late in the night on June 23, Jrue Holiday was exchanged for Anfernee Simons in a Boston Celtics-Portland Trail Blazers deal.
This time, it’s a trade between the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards involving two similar players for two franchises attempting to go in different directions. We broke it all down, including giving each team a grade considering the present and future of how the deal may play out.
Breaking Down the CJ McCollum-Jordan Poole Trade Details
The trade was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on X, who said, “The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, sources tell ESPN,” Charania posted.
The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2025
Let’s grade both sides of the deal, starting with the Pelicans, who are taking a swing on a talented yet sometimes erratic scorer in the place of a veteran combo guard who had missed time with injuries in each of the past two seasons.
New Orleans Pelicans Analysis
When the Pelicans dealt forward Brandon Ingram before the 2025 trade deadline, it signaled a clear sign that more moves were to be made.
Following a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, where they were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, the bottom fell out early in New Orleans. They won just seven of their first 38 games in the 2024-25 season and never recovered, finishing with a 21-61 record.
It was a major failure for the franchise, as they’d made a trade to acquire guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks before the season and were gearing up to make a run at the playoffs.
Injuries played a huge role, as Murray tore his Achilles in late January and McCollum and Zion Williamson were plagued by nagging foot and back ailments, respectively. They were shut down for the season in late March.
In retrospect, that proved to be the final straw of the Pelicans’ promising yet disappointment-filled roster makeup of the past four seasons with McCollum in the fold.
READ MORE: NBA Fans React to Pelicans’ Trade for Poole With Wizards in Surprising 4-Player Deal
Now, after averaging 21.1 points but on a career-low 37.3% from 3-point range, McCollum is out the door. Headed out with him is Kelly Olynyk, who was included in the deal for Ingram and played in 20 games for the Pelicans. He started all 20, scoring 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
In return, the Pelicans receive Poole — who’s on a similar $30+ million deal as McCollum — and Bey — who missed all of last season with a torn ACL but has been a double-digit scorer in each of his four seasons. The 40th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft was also included in exchange for a future second-rounder.
If nothing else, the Pelicans certainly got younger with this trade. They were operating on a de facto two-timeline roster, as veterans like Murray, McCollum, Ingram, and Williamson meshed with the younger players like Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins, and Yves Missi.
By sending away Ingram and McCollum in the past six months and receiving Poole (26 years old) and Bey (26), they add two more contributors who are closer to their young core, all 26 and younger.
On the court, it doesn’t project to change a ton. Both McCollum and Poole are offensive-minded, shoot-first, pass-second combo guards. Neither is much of a stopper by any means on the defensive end of the floor. But while McCollum, at 33, is on the downturn of his career, Poole is in his prime years. He averaged a career-high 20.5 points per game in 2024 while converting 37.8% of his 3s — also a career-best mark.
Bey, assuming he recovers from his injury that sidelined him last season, provides defense and shooting on the wing. He’s a classic 3-and-D type of player.
It’s safe to say that the Pelicans improved by making this trade. With the contracts relatively similar between McCollum and Poole, despite the latter having one more guaranteed year, this move further aligns with the young core of the roster.
Still, it’s not a big enough swing to set expectations of competing in the tougher-than-ever Western Conference. More moves could be on the horizon in New Orleans.
Pelicans Grade: B
Washington Wizards Analysis
It doesn’t take long to figure out why the Wizards made this trade. In fact, you can trace it back to Feb. 7, 2025. On that day, Washington dealt forward Kyle Kuzma, several bottom-of-the-roster players, and several draft picks to acquire Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton and Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart in separate trades.
Neither player fit the Wizards’ timeline, who were trotting out a starting lineup featuring all three of their 2024 first-round picks in Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George. Second-year man and 2023 first-rounder Bilal Coulibaly was also in the lineup alongside Poole.
With Middleton (33) and Smart (31) exiting their prime years and having each dealt with nagging injuries over the past couple of seasons, it was a priority for the Bucks and Grizzlies to get anything back in return. The Wizards became willing takers — for a couple of reasons.
The pair brought with them a combined 22 years of experience in the league, something the young roster lacked as they spent the early years of their careers on losing rosters. While Middleton had a championship ring, Smart had been through years of deep playoff runs with the Celtics.
While that was one reason, something else was probably in mind: cap space in the summer of 2026.
Both Middleton and Smart’s contracts are set to expire following the conclusion of next season. And they aren’t cheap. Middleton (who picked up his player option) is owed $33.2 million, and Smart is owed $21.5 million.
McCollum is on that exact same contract timeline, as he’s set to rake in $30.6 million next season before entering unrestricted free agency in the summer. Olynyk is expiring as well, as he’ll earn $13.4 million next season before his contract runs dry. In all, that’s a combined $98.7 million in cap space that will be off Washington’s books next summer.
For a rebuilding team with several young, promising players, including the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, it’s a nice bit of planning for the future — something that had to be an emphasis for a team that has lost a combined 131 games the past two seasons.
It gives them the ability to be a player in nearly every free agent next season — a list that is headlined by Luka Dončić, Paolo Banchero, and potentially Durant (if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Houston Rockets). While signing either of those players is unlikely (even if Durant grew up in the DMV), they could put together a significant offer for an Austin Reaves or Julius Randle-type player.
Regardless of exactly what they do, adding McCollum’s contract to their books gives the Wizards even more flexibility next summer as they enter the 2025-26 season in a state of continued development and rebuilding.
Wizards Grade: B+
