One day before the 2025 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans made their second trade this offseason. This time, Joe Dumars and the Pelicans’ front office traded for Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole. Shams Charania dropped the news on Tuesday via X.
New Orleans will send away guard CJ McCollum, power forward Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick. The Pels will receive Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the 40th overall pick in tomorrow’s draft. Now, the New Orleans Pelicans own two first-round picks (7th and 23rd) and one second-round pick in Wednesday night’s draft.
Poole is a six-year veteran guard who spent his first four seasons in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors after being taken 28th overall in the 2019 draft. The former Michigan Wolverine helped the Warriors win the 2022 NBA Finals when they defeated the Boston Celtics in six games. In that series, Poole averaged 13.2 points on 43.5% from the floor and 38.5% from three-point range.
The 26-year-old was traded after the following season to the Washington Wizards, where he’s played the last two years. The move happened after locker room instances occurred between him and Warriors forward Draymond Green, where Green punched Poole during a practice.
In his two years in Washington, Poole missed a total of 16 games, averaging 17.4 points in the 2023-24 season, and last season put up 20.5 points per contest. Over the last four seasons, the 6’4″, 194-pound guard has at least 17 points per game, and in his career, Poole has a shooting percentage of 42.2 with a three-point average of 34.5.
Bey’s been in the NBA for four years, spending his first three seasons with the Detroit Pistons before being traded ahead of the trade deadline to the Wizards. Bey stands at 6’7″, weighs 215 pounds, and is 26-years-old.
In his career, the former 19th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Villanova averages 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and .8 steals. Bey also has a shooting percentage of 40.8 and is a 35.2% three-point shooter on 6.3 attempts from behind the arc.
McCollum was in New Orleans since the tail-end of the 2021-22 season, playing in at least 66 games per season before last year playing in 56. The 33-year-old guard out of Leigh averaged at least 20 points per game each season with the Pelicans as he shot 45% from the floor and nearly 40% from behind the three-point line. He also averaged over four assists and rebounds a contest.
Olynyk was a throw-in for the deal to bolster Washington’s frontcourt. The 34-year-old will soon gear up to play for his eighth team after becoming an in-season pickup for New Orleans as the team was decimated by injuries.
