Poole & Bey to Pels for McCollum and Wizard-Killer

[WallToWall]

I really thought Poole was worth at least one 1st rnd pick. I am wondering if there is another trade on the horizon - the newly acquired vets expiring contracts plus others for trade picks…

[NatP4]

If Bailey is your guy, you don’t need to eat that PG contract to move up to 3. He’ll be there at 6.

Maybe they really want Edgecombe? Maybe they line something up with Phoenix for Beal’s contract.

[J-Ves]

If we end up with #3 and #6.....

we won't the deal will be:

6 + Middleton + Kispert for 3 + PG13

its a terrible trade but thats what it will be

[closg00]

We could be positioning ourselves to do what Detroit did which was to surround the young core group with the right vets, and return to relevancy.

[smoothSeph]

Read on Twitter

Right. And this makes it sound like it is Coulibaly that they are trying to trade to move up.

Does it? Coulibaly can play the 2 or 3 I don't think this move has anything do do with him.

[trast66]

Funny to look back on the posts recently that Poole was worth a first round pick.

Yea, that was laughable. Some people were saying if Bane was worth four FRPs, Poole was worth two

And this is a great move. Finally got rid of the running joke that is Jordan Poole. Good riddance.

Page 39 and 40 of the trade thread I believe. And yes, this is a fantastic trade. Hoping can make some other deals with Dumars if this is his approach.

[keynote]

If we end up with #3 and #6.....

we won't the deal will be:

6 + Middleton + Kispert for 3 + PG13

its a terrible trade but thats what it will be

I'm holding out for PG13 + 3 for Middleton/Kispert + 18 + second(s). I'd consider swapping George for Kispert if it landed us the #3.

[payitforward]

Holy shut! Put the Mac down for a half hour & this happens...?

[AFM]

Read on Twitter

Right. And this makes it sound like it is Coulibaly that they are trying to trade to move up.

Does it? Coulibaly can play the 2 or 3 I don't think this move has anything do do with him.

They said they offered some “surprising names” to trade up to 2. I doubt they offered Sarr, so it’s either Carrington or Bilal.

[Tyrone Messby]

Alright this move has me intrigued after I’ve had some time to calm down from the rig job that was the draft lotto

[Rafael122]

Funny to look back on the posts recently that Poole was worth a first round pick.

Yea, that was laughable. Some people were saying if Bane was worth four FRPs, Poole was worth two

And this is a great move. Finally got rid of the running joke that is Jordan Poole. Good riddance.

Well, the difference is it appears that they valued the cap space over whatever picks they could have gotten from another team.

[Rafael122]

FA class isn't great for '26 unless for whatever reason Luka just wants out.

Read on Twitter

This isn't a real list b/c the vast majority of the draft picks will sign extensions. When the dust settles, you're looking at an Austin Reaves being a top 5 free agent for that class.

[WallToWall]

If we end up with #3 and #6.....

we won't the deal will be:

6 + Middleton + Kispert for 3 + PG13

its a terrible trade but thats what it will be

The expiring deals of Smart + McCoulum = Paul George + more fodder. A pick will have to be added to Paul George, I would think.

[payitforward]

If we end up with #3 and #6.....

we won't the deal will be:

6 + Middleton + Kispert for 3 + PG13

its a terrible trade but thats what it will be

I think we'll wantt some draft capital to come back in that deal. E.g. this year's #35 pick...?

[FAH1223]

Read on Twitter

The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade guard Jordan Poole, wing Saddiq Bey and the 40th pick in this year’s draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for guard CJ McCollum, big man Kelly Olynyk and a 2027 second-round pick that originally belonged to Chicago, team sources told The Athletic.

Poole, 26, just completed his second season with the Wizards, a comeback season of sorts in which he played point guard extensively and, with the ball in his hands, enhanced his trade value. Poole averaged a career-high 20.5 points per game, tied a career high with 4.5 assists per game and sank a career-high 37.8 percent of his 3-point tries.

As the 2024-25 season continued, and especially after trading Kyle Kuzma to the Milwaukee Bucks in early February, Washington’s offense improved its ball movement, with shots distributed more democratically, especially among second-year player Bilal Coulibaly and rookies Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, AJ Johnson and Alex Sarr.

By moving Poole now, the Wizards hope to further increase their ball movement and increase the playmaking opportunities and shot opportunities for the team’s young players, including whomever the Wizards select in this year’s draft, while also incorporating more experienced players such as Khris Middleton, Corey Kispert and McCollum into the mix.

Bey, 26, is fully healed from the March 2024 ACL surgery that forced him to miss the 2024-25 season. Trading Bey will ease, but not eliminate, a crunch for playing time among Washington’s perimeter players, a group that includes Coulibaly, George, Johnson, Kispert, Middleton and now McCollum.

From Washington’s perspective, there is a strong cap-management benefit to this deal, beginning with the 2026 offseason.

With this trade, and specifically by offloading Poole’s onerous contract, the Wizards now project to have as much as $100 million in cap space for the summer of 2026 — cap space that could open an array of roster-construction avenues but most likely will be used that summer to accept contracts in trades if those contracts include future draft picks attached to them. Under Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger and Wizards general manager Will Dawkins, who are entering their third seasons in Washington, the Wizards have prioritized adding future draft picks.

Poole is under contract for two more full seasons, at fully guaranteed salaries of $31.9 million for 2025-26 and $34.0 million for 2026-27. Bey is under contract for a fully guaranteed $6.1 million for 2025-26 and a $6.4 million team option for 2026-27.

For McCollum, 33, and Olynyk, 34, the 2025-26 season will be the final year of their current contracts.

McCollum averaged 21.1 points in four seasons with the Pelicans and played a pivotal role in them reaching the playoffs in 2022 and 2024. It also only took him 223 games in New Orleans to go down as the franchise’s all-time leader in 3-pointers (692).

This is the first major move by the Pelicans’ new executive vice president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, and new senior vice president of basketball operations, Troy Weaver. Weaver spent the 2024-25 season with the Wizards as a senior adviser within the front office and has a strong familiarity with Poole and Bey.

McCollum is expected to add veteran leadership on the Wizards’ roster, which team officials deem important with unrestricted free agent guard Malcolm Brogdon likely to sign elsewhere this summer.

McCollum, who is more comfortable playing off the ball than Poole is, also should help enhance playmaking and shot-creation opportunities for the Wizards’ young players. McCollum is a lower-usage player than Poole and also has a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Poole.

One of the Wizards’ priorities is to retain their own first-round pick for the 2026 draft. Because of a trade made in 2020, Washington would convey its 2026 first-round pick to the New York Knicks if it falls outside the top eight.

By making today’s trade, the Wizards are giving more player-development opportunities for their youngest players and, in the process, likely will increase the likelihood of retaining their 2026 first-round pick.

Today’s trade is expected to be made official on, or after, July 6, with the start of the league’s new cap year.

[closg00]

On the NO side this is a great re-tool for them, IF Zion can stay healthy, they added needed scoring with Poole, SF depth with Bey, and they get to pick up another asset with pick 40 and potential help this season.

[smoothSeph]

Right. And this makes it sound like it is Coulibaly that they are trying to trade to move up.

Does it? Coulibaly can play the 2 or 3 I don't think this move has anything do do with him.

They said they offered some “surprising names” to trade up to 2. I doubt they offered Sarr, so it’s either Carrington or Bilal.

I gotchu. Hopefully not. I'd love to see a lineup of Bub, Bilal, Ace, George, Sarr.

[tontoz]

We got a better player on a shorter contract. This is a big win considering what Poole's value was a year ago.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Not doing somersaults over this one. Not crying either. Cap space next year is obviously a nice asset. On the other hand, we just through in a 2nd in a very deep draft. If the 2nd ends up being Jonni Broome or Maxime Reynaud, I’ll be a little pssed.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Going to miss Poole and his stinky splash celebration. Little did Poole know how fitting this was for a Wizards player.

:)