Sure, why not? The New Orleans Pelicans have acquired Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey from the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. One second round pick will also be traded to / from each team in the deal.
In his first year with the Wizards, Jordan Poole often seemed to forget that a lot of people were watching him play basketball every night. It was a little disorderly. Last season, though, Poole was pretty solid in D.C. He averaged a career-high 20.5 points per game and shot nearly 38 percent from 3-point range. He was a normal, pretty good NBA guard.
Now, he's on his way to New Orleans with Saddiq Bey, and here's how the Pels lineup could look in a few months.
Projected Pelicans starting lineup after adding Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey
Position | Starter | Bench |
|---|---|---|
Point guard | Dejounte Murray | Jose Alvarado |
Shooting guard | Jordan Poole | Saddiq Bey |
Small forward | Trey Murphy III | Brandon Boston |
Power forward | Zion Williamson | Herb Jones |
Center | Yves Missi | Karlo Matkovic |
NOTE: Dejounte Murray tore his achilles in February, so may not be available for the start of the season. I put him in the lineup just because he doesn't have an exact timetable for his return yet.
More moves are likely coming for the Pels, who also hold the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft on Wedesday, so this roster is subject to change in the coming weeks, but for now, this is how I see thinks stacking up for Willie Green. Murray and Poole will likely man the backcourt, TMIII and Zion are set as the starting No. 3 and No. 4, and standout rookie Yves Missi is the clear best choice at center going forward.
The only potential change I could see with this current roster would entail Poole coming off the bench and Herb Jones starting alongside Murphy, slotting Murphy into kind of a combo guard / forward role.
Meanwhile, Karlo Matkovic played well enough last year to earn himself some run as the backup center for the Pels.
Pelicans swap shooting guards, add extra bench scoring in Bey
CJ McCollum is on the final year of his contract, so it makes sense that NOLA was looking for a trade partner for the veteran guard. It also makes sense that Washington would be willing to take that on — the Wizards also have Khris Middleton on the final year of his deal, so the Wizards' thought process seems to be compete (at least a little bit) next year with some veterans, but not enough to stunt the growth of their young players. I don't hate it, really.
New Orleans might make multiple moves this offseason, and in this deal the Pels got younger and added some extra offensive punch in Bey, who should play a considerable role off the bench.