The New Orleans Pelicans kicked off their 2025 offseason with a bang, trading away CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick to the Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the 40th pick (Micah Peavy). While some looked at this move as a head-scratcher, I didn't. I love the three additions the Pelicans made in this move and felt it was a great way to kick-start the summer.
Although I love what all these new additions bring to a hungry Pelicans team, the reason I love this deal so much is that New Orleans let go of McCollum at the perfect time.
CJ was brought in during the 2022 trade deadline to help bring leadership to the young Pelicans' locker room. During his four years, the now 33-year-old has helped and influenced this young team while still bringing a consistent 20 points a night. And while the Pelicans have had their fair share of injuries the last 3 years, McCollum has been consistently healthy, appearing in over 80% of his games during his three full seasons in New Orleans.
With all the talks this offseason of Joe Dumars wanting Zion Williamson to step up as a leader, as well as the return of Dejounte Murray and the addition of Kevon Looney. The Pelicans have plenty of leadership and veteran voices to help guide this group, making McCollum expendable. While he's been a consistent scoring punch, regression is coming for the soon-to-be 34-year-old, making it the right time to part ways with him.
Dumars helped the Pelicans dodge a bullet
Whether you're a fan or not a fan of the Pelicans' swapping McCollum for Poole, you need to understand that the impact JP is going to have will be much higher than what CJ could've done. Even though both players would bring a similar impact as starters, New Orleans needs a viable sixth man. Which happens to be a role that Poole thrives in.
Three years ago, he was the first guy off the bench for the 2022 NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Poole's impact as a shot creator and scorer off the bench that season was vital to their playoff success. This type of proven ability in a sixth man role was just too good to pass up on for Dumars.
Although regression hasn't hit CJ, it will, as it's borderline impossible to maintain a 20 points per game average mid-way through your 30s. By moving him when they did, New Orleans truly dodged a bullet, as if the Pelicans had continued to hold on to him and waited for regression to hit, they would've been stuck with a negative asset. Instead, they flipped him and got back a much better fit for their timeline in Jordan Poole.