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The Pelicans and Wizards made a bizarre trade on the day before the NBA Draft.
New Orleans traded CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick to the Wizards for Jordan Poole, Sadiq Bey, and the No. 40 overall pick in Wednesday’s draft. The news was first reported by ESPN.
The trade doesn’t move the needle for either team’s chance at contention as both are rebuilding and hold top-10 picks in the draft. McCollum, who is president of the National Basketball Players Association, has averaged almost 20 points per game during his 12-year career, and joins Khris Middleton in the nation’s capital to form a talented backcourt for a team that lost 64 games this past season.
But the trade also sets the Wizards up for the 2026 summer as both Olynyk and McCollum are on expiring contracts. Combined with Middleton’s $33.3 million player option, which he opted into on Monday, the Wizards have $110 million coming off their books at the end of next season, which will net roughly $100 million in cap space.
The Wizards are trying to move on from the post-John Wall and Bradley Beal era and boast a pair of French lottery picks in Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly as part of a young core. Despite having the worst record in the Eastern Conference this season, owner Ted Leonsis recently told Front Office Sports that the Wizards “weren’t tanking.” Despite having the best odds at the No. 1 overall pick, the Wizards fell to sixth in the draft lottery, where they will select on Wednesday night.
