The Washington Wizards started the offseason off with a bang becoming one of the first teams to get active on the trade market.
Flipping Jordan Poole's contract and Saddiq Bey in a package along with draft capital to land CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick.
Washington's motive was more or less finally landing an adequate veteran presence to lead the backcourt after the team's failed Malcolm Brogdon experiment.
However, the idea of finally moving on from Poole's contract was too good to be true following his career year for the Wizards.
Considering where things stood after Poole's first season in Washington ended with him being benched, from being viewed as one of the worst contracts in the league to a player with at least some value was something Washington couldn't overlook.
On the flip side, the move for the New Orleans Pelicans didn't seem to make as much sense as it did for the Wizards.
In fact, it made no sense at all.
Sure, NOLA got the younger backcourt player, but financially, this move put the Pelicans in a pretty bad spot moving forward.
Not only did the Pels' offload McCollum's expiring contract, but they took on Poole's $34 million contract that stays on the books until the 2026-27 season.
In addition to the guard's robust contract number, the unlikely incentives linked into his contract will almost certainly prove to make things even tougher for the Pelicans to trade him in a separate deal if his fit in New Orleans isn't what either side hoped it could be.
And if we're being brutally honest, whether Poole fits in NOLA or not, the Pelicans aren't anywhere near contention.
Even with the talent on the roster, the Pels just don't seem to be on the level of the other contending teams in the Western Conference and the addition of Poole won't fix that.
That said, there's more than likely a flurry of roster moves for New Orleans on the horizon and adding the headache Poole's contract brings to the list of issues they're likely to face, there's no way to consider the Pelicans as the winner of this deal.
Washington on the other hand, gets a savvy vet, way out of his contract after the season and financial freedom next offseason.
Not to mention the fact the Wizards already flipped Olynyk's deal for a former first-round pick in Malaki Branham.
Regardless of how you view this deal, Washington without a doubt fleeced the Pelicans.