The New Orleans Pelicans didn't wait around until draft night, swinging the first blockbuster trade of the Joe Dumars era Tuesday afternoon.
The Pels have agreed to ship out guard CJ McCollum, center Kelly Olynyk and a future 2nd round pick to the Wizards in exchange for another scoring guard in Jordan Poole, forward Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 overall pick in this years draft, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.
New Orleans already agreed to swap a 2026 first rounder with the Pacers for the No. 23 overall selection, meaning the Pels have three selections to work with, the highest being No. 7 overall.
The move marks the end of an exciting but ultimately disappointing run in New Orleans for McCollum since the team traded for him in a blockbuster move midway through the 2020-'21 season.
McCollum quickly become a team leader for the Pels, a veteran on a young and developing roster that simply couldn't stay on the floor enough of the time. He started 233 games for New Orleans while averaging 21.1 points per game and 4.1 assists, with the Pelicans improving their record in each of his first three seasons prior to the past season that saw Executive VP David Griffin ousted from a role he'd held since 2019. McCollum had previously expressed his desire to remain in New Orleans for the long term.
The 33-year-old guard departs as the franchise's all-time leader in 3-pointers made (692) and is one of just three players in franchise history to score 50-plus points in a game, along with Anthony Davis and Jamal Mashburn.
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The Pelicans add a much younger player in Poole, 26, but a much more polarizing commodity. The former Michigan standout got off to a scorching start to his career with the Warriors, averaging 20.4 points in his final season there but with some issues that included being punched by Draymond Green during a practice session. Golden State signed Poole to a 4-year, $128 million extension prior to the 2023-'24 season before trading him to the Warriors. Poole is due just under $66 million over the next two seasons.
Poole won't be shy about getting his shots up and he can certainly pack an offensive punch from the guard position for a team that expects to be without DeJounte Murray -- last year's major trade addition -- for an extended time as he works back from an Achilles injury. Poole had a tough opening season with the Wizards, but bounced back statistically this past year with averages of 20.5 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Several Pelicans players, including Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, have had their names brought up in trade rumors but to this point have stayed put. Dumars has made it clear he intends to build around Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, despite continued off-court distractions. Williamson was the Pelicans' representative at the draft lottery, but he did now draw good luck as the team fell to No. 7 despite have the 4th worst record (21-61) last season.