NBA trade season is in full effect, as the Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant and the Portland Trail Blazers landed Jrue Holiday just days apart.
Organizations are showing no signs of slowing down before the 2025 NBA Draft, with yet another deal taking place on Tuesday afternoon. The New Orleans Pelicans just joined the group of active offseason teams in a move to gain youth.
Zion Williamson remains the Pelicans’ franchise cornerstone, but no one was quite sure entering this summer whether New Orleans would push to build around him or reset. Their recent trade with the Washington Wizards gives fans at least an idea of their future blueprint.
Pelicans Trade CJ McCollum for Jordan Poole Among Others
After the Pelicans dealt Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors at this year’s trade deadline, veteran guard CJ McCollum became even more crucial to New Orleans finding any level of success. He’s a 33-year-old offensive-minded guard who doesn’t fit Williamson’s timeline, but at least acted as a reliable scoring option in the starting lineup.
The Pelicans took a major step toward catering to Williamson on Tuesday, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported New Orleans is trading McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a second-round pick to the Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the No. 40 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
“The trade swaps guards — the Wizards shifting from Poole to the veteran in McCollum, who has an expiring contract,” Charania wrote. “Washington now is expected to approach $100 million in projected cap space in 2026. Pelicans move younger, possibly more dynamic with Poole and Bey.”
The deal makes sense for both parties in the exact ways Charania pointed out.
McCollum is entering the latter season of a two-year, $64 million contract extension he signed with the Pelicans in 2022. Alternatively, Poole’s four-year, $128 million deal runs through the 2027 season, which means the Wizards gain major cap flexibility next offseason with this move. Not to mention, McCollum can provide a great amount of leadership to a youthful Washington roster led by former No. 2 pick Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Bilal Coulibaly.
For the Pelicans, this trade trends in the direction of them continuing to build around Williamson. Poole is a 26-year-old NBA champion capable of averaging 20 points with a mixture of interior and perimeter scoring. Last season, he recorded 20.5 points and 4.5 assists per game on 43.2% shooting, including 37.8% from 3-point range.
Considering how reliant Williamson is on dominating the interior, it’s comforting to know Poole spent four seasons learning from Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.
