Washington chases youth

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 draft pick in Thursday's second round, a person with knowledge of the agreement told reporters under condition of anonymity.

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 the Portland Trail Blazers.

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 clearly maximizing the youth movement now — will gain a ton of financial freedom in the deal, which they can use going forward to continue their rebuild.

They could easily 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 its two first-round picks on 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 sends a 2026 first-rounder to the Indiana Pacers.

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 University 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; McCollum and Olynyk should be improvements there.

McCollum is a locker room leader, a union president and still a very productive player — one of three players averaging at least 20 points in each of the last 10 seasons. The others are LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan.

Agencies via Xinhua