The Washington Wizards busy offseason has introduced multiple new faces to the DMV, while sending out several players as a result.
Arguably the biggest move of the offseason for Washington may have the least amount of impact on the court.
When Washington opted to send Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey in a package to the New Orleans Pelicans in exhange for CJ McCollum, many people were left scratching their heads.
Not only is McCollum well into his 30's, but the veteran guard is on one of the steepest expiring contracts in the league.
However, when the Wizards drafted Tre Johnson at No, 6 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft shortly after acquiring McCollum, it seemed that the move to land the veteran was the first domino to fall in order for the team to surround their young backcourt with a reliable mentor to further their development.
And while that may still be true, it also seems like the biggest driving force for the Wizards to pull the trigger on a Jordan Poole-CJ McCollum swap was more about moving on from Poole than it was to land McCollum.
Poole entered the offseason coming off a career-year in Washington, which was not only good for his career, but equally if not better for the Wizards.
Following his horrid first year in Washington that led to Poole being benched, the Michigan product was viewed by many around the league as one of, if not the worst contract in the NBA as a whole.
Between his inefficient play and limited impact on winning, the contract he was on just didn't look to be an attractive deal for nearly any team in the league to take on which made it a true nightmare for the Wizards to offload him in any potential deal.
Fortunately, Poole's strong season in D.C. allowed for the narrative to change a bit giving the Wizards a bit of hope that eventually a team would come along desperate enough to take the guard off their hands.
And when the Pelicans came calling about a potential McCollum for Poole swap, it was a no-brainer for the Wizards to finalize a deal.
Poole's departure not only opens up minutes in the backcourt for young talent, like Johnson who could immediately replace the scoring left behind, but it also opened the door for the Wizards to land a savvy vet that could fill the role Malcolm Brogdon never could.