In a significant trade move shaking up both rosters, the New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to send veteran guard CJ McCollum to the Washington Wizards in exchange for dynamic young scorer Jordan Poole, signaling a major shift in strategy for both NBA franchises moving forward.

Washington sends Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick in the 2025 Draft to New Orleans.

The Pelicans are sending CJ McCollum to Washington in exchange for Jordan Poole.

The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to trade veteran guard CJ McCollum, center Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for guard Jordan Poole, wing Saddiq Bey and the 40th overall pick in Thursday’s second round of the NBA Draft (used to select Micah Peavy of Georgetown), per multiple reports.

The trade, which also included Cam Whitmore joining the Wizards and Mojave King moving to the Houston Rockets, was confirmed on July 6.

Pelicans receive: 

Jordan Poole

Saddiq Bey

Micah Peavy (No. 40 overall)

Wizards receive: 

Cam Whitmore

CJ McCollum

Kelly Olynyk

2027 second-round pick

Rockets receive:

Mojave King (No. 47 overall)

2026 second-round pick

2029 second-round pick

McCollum, a 12-year veteran who has averaged 19.6 points per game throughout his career, now joins his third team since 2022 after spending the bulk of his career with Portland.

Poole, a six-year veteran who has averaged 16.8 points per game, also joins his third franchise after spending his first four seasons with Golden State and the past two with the Wizards.

The Wizards — who are maximizing their youth movement — will gain financial freedom in the deal, which they can use going forward to continue their rebuild. They easily could have around $100 million in cap space for the summer of 2026, largely by clearing $57 million in expiring contracts for McCollum and Olynyk this coming season.

It’s likely that Washington will look for guards with their two first-round picks Wednesday — No. 6 and No. 18 — and continue adding to the youth movement that started with the Bradley Beal trade.

The Pelicans are entering a new era under the direction of Joe Dumars — a former NBA champion as a player and general manager with Detroit — who was hired in April to replace David Griffin as executive vice president of basketball operations.

Last week, Dumars acquired a second first-round draft choice — 23rd overall — to go with the club’s seventh overall pick in a trade that sent a 2026 first-rounder to Indiana.

Olynyk, a Canadian, spent less than a season in New Orleans after being dealt by Toronto as part of a deal that sent high-scoring wing Brandon Ingram to the Raptors. The 12-year veteran has averaged 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds during his career.

Bey, a 19th overall pick out of Villanova in 2020, has averaged 14.1 points per game with Detroit and Atlanta. He spent last season with Washington but did not play while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.

In the short term, the deal could also make the Wizards more competitive. They were next-to-last in 3-point shooting last season, where McCollum and Olynyk should be improvements there. McCollum is a locker room leader, a union president and still a very productive player. He’s one of three players averaging at least 20 points in each of the last 10 seasons. The others are LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan.