The NBA is abuzz with several offseason trades right now. The Suns got the ball rolling with the first blockbuster, sending Kevin Durant to the Rockets. The Pelicans have jumped into the deep end by trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick to the Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the 40th pick of the 2025 NBA draft. Poole saw a bump in fantasy basketball in 2024-25. How will he fare as a Pelican this season?
Jordan Poole Could Sink or Swim as a Pelican in Fantasy Basketball
2024-25 Fantasy Basketball Rankings (9-cat, per-game)
(Fantasy basketball rankings are taken from Hashtagbasketball.com)
Jordan Poole #52
CJ McCollum #117
Kelly Olynyk #206
Saddiq Bey NA (DNP – Torn ACL in left knee)
New Wizards Veterans
The Wizards traded for McCollum to take on his expiring contract, which aligns with their other collection of veterans (Marcus Smart, Khris Middleton). At 33 years of age, there’s little upside for McCollum. He’s going to try to land one last payday, but he will need a bounce-back season to achieve that. He will flirt with top-100 value, but consistency will be an issue. Because McCollum is not a priority beyond getting some showcase games in, it won’t be easy to count on him in fantasy.
Olynyk is a year older than McCollum and will be more of a locker-room presence and mentor for their young core. He was only able to make waves as a streamer late in the season due to the Pelicans’ plethora of injuries. He’s not someone to target while he’s on the Wizards’ roster.
Spotlight on Jordan Poole — Will He Start?
At 26, Poole gives the Pelicans a younger floor-spacing shooting guard. He can score and hit a ton of threes. Poole emerged as a blossoming threat on offense during his time with the Warriors.
Unfortunately, he’s not been notable for his defense. To his credit, he did make an effort since moving to Washington. Poole was able to make waves early in the season thanks to an uptick in steals. But those soon regressed to his mean, and his value slid down a slippery slope. He kept his value afloat thanks to his 20.5 points and 3.5 treys per game. However, his less-than-stellar 43.3 FG% as well as his 3.0 turnovers per contest kept his fantasy ceiling in check. To his credit, Poole did enough to improve his defense to finish the season averaging 1.3 steals per game.
After a season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles in February 2025, there is some doubt about whether Dejounte Murray will be ready for the start of the season. In 31 games for New Orleans, Murray averaged 17.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 7.4 APG, and 2.0 SPG. This situation could open up some playing time with the starting five for Poole.
Herb Jones is also recovering from an injury of his own, but he’s expected to be ready to start the season. The Pelicans have shown a preference for Jones to start for them thanks to his on-ball defense.
At some point, Murray and Jones will both be healthy and available for the Pelicans. This could push Poole to a sixth-man role. This was the case with McCollum at some point during the 2024-25 season. A move to the bench will not bode well for Poole’s full-season outlook in 2025-26. He’s shown that he needs minutes and high usage to deliver the stats required to be a valuable asset in fantasy.
The Last Word
Poole will get minutes on a Pelicans roster that can use his three-point shooting skills. However, for him to produce top-50 fantasy value, he will need to improve on his shooting efficiency and steal rate. He won’t have as much leash as he did with the Wizards, so a bit of a regression in production should be expected.
Poole should be targeted outside of the top 75 range, if possible. This will help mitigate the expected broad statistical variance this coming season. He’s going to be a points-and-3s guy at his core, making him more of a target for fantasy teams with small-ball builds in head-to-head. In rotisserie formats, Poole should go closer to or outside the top 100 due to the deficiencies in his game.
Featured image: © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
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