A bit of a blockbuster deal for the Wiz on the eve of the NBA Draft: per Shams Charania, the team is acquiring CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick from New Orleans for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and this year’s No. 40 selection.
The move adds some salary for Washington this year but creates a lot more flexibility after the 2025-26 season; McCollum ($30,666,666) and Olynyk ($13,445,122) are on expiring deals, and while Poole and Bey combined are set to make approximately $38.5 million between them in 2025-26, they are also both under contract for the ’26-27 season at $34 million and $7 million, respectively.
So, adding a little less than six million this season gives the Wizards more than $40 million additional space under the cap next summer – potentially putting them over $100 million below the cap, as they also have another $68 million coming off the books with Marcus Smart, Khris Middleton, and Richaun Holmes after this season.
McCollum, who turns 34 in September, has spent the last 3 ½ seasons in New Orleans after a Feb. 2022 trade from Portland, where he spent his first eight-plus campaigns. He has averaged 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in his career, including a 21.1/3.8/4.1 line last season.
Olynyk, 34, went from Toronto to New Orleans in a deadline deal last year, and averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 points per game between the teams. His career averages are 10.2 point, 5.2 boards, and 2.5 dimes per game over 12 seasons with seven different teams.
Poole was acquired in July 2023 when the Wizards flipped Chris Paul to Golden State, and he averaged 18.8 points and 4.4 assists per game in 134 games over two seasons in DC. Bey signed a three-year deal last summer but missed the entire ’24-25 season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in March 2024.