The Trae Young era in Atlanta has come to a close, with the Hawks sending Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. This trade took place during the fourth quarter of the New Orleans Pelicans' ninth straight loss, 117-100 to the Hawks, on Wednesday night. This trade not only paints a clear picture of what the future holds for Zion Williamson in New Orleans but also reunites the Pelicans castaways in Atlanta.
As CJ McCollum and Dyson Daniels have been reunited in Atlanta after spending _ season together in the Big Easy. Both players were moved in back-to-back offseasons as part of deals that were supposed to shake up the New Orleans roster and give the team a fresh look. However, all these moves have done is add to the misery that Pelicans fans have gone through over the last several years.
Two painful reminders of what could have been
Back during the 2024 offseason, the Pelicans were in desperate need of a true floor general, someone the team could trust as a decision maker and creator for others. Which is why they decided to pursue Dejounte Murray and, in return, had to give draft capital some salary filler and an Australian guard prospect named Dyson Daniels, who had developed into much at the time of the trade.
The deal was widely viewed as a win-win—the Hawks got some assets for their future while taking a flier on a former lottery pick, and the Pelicans got their floor general. But right away, Daniels flipped the script as the Hawks coaching staff unleashed him, and he went on to win Most Improved Player, finish second in Defensive Player of the Year, and make the All-Defensive first team.
Murray, on the other hand, had personal issues going on that led to him being off the court, and then when he did return, he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Now he finds himself with no concrete return date and in trade rumors.
With a front office change happening as the Pelicans entered the 2025 offseason, Joe Dumars and his staff were eager to make a move. They opted to go after Jordan Poole, who was coming off a career year for the Wizards. This was another costly mistake, as Poole has missed 19 games this season and is shooting 36.3 percent from the floor.
While McCollum is averaging just under 19 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting from the floor, and missed one game, which was Wednesday night, because of the trade. Oh, and he's also on an expiring contract, unlike Poole, who has another year left at just over $34 million.
After being traded just one summer apart, Daniels and McCollum will now form a killer backcourt in Atlanta, and Pelicans fans will just have to sit back and watch what could've been.