The New Orleans Pelicans agreed to trade veteran guard CJ McCollum, center Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for guard Jordan Poole, wing Saddiq Bey and the 40th overall pick in Thursday’s second round of the NBA draft, multiple sources reported.

McCollum, a 12-year veteran who has averaged 19.6 points per game throughout his career, joins his third team since 2022 after spending the bulk of his career with Portland.

Poole, a six-year veteran who has averaged 16.8 points per game, also joins his third franchise after spending his first four seasons with Golden State and the past two with the Wizards.

The Wizards — who are clearly maximizing the youth movement now — will gain a ton of financial freedom in the deal, which they can use going forward to continue their rebuild. They easily could have around $100 million in cap space for the summer of 2026, largely by clearing $57 million in expiring contracts for McCollum and Olynyk this coming season.

It’s likely that Washington will look for guards with their two first-round picks — Nos. 6 and 18 — and continue adding to their youth movement.

Blazers acquire Holiday from Celtics

Jrue Holiday’s acquisition from Portland helped spark the Boston Celtics to their NBA-record 18th championship last season.

Holiday is being sent back to the Trail Blazers by a Boston team that could now be in transition, multiple sources reported.

ESPN reported that the Celtics would get Anfernee Simons and two second-round draft picks from the Trail Blazers.

The departure of Holiday, who made his sixth career all-defensive team in his first season in Boston, was confirmed to The AP on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official.

Holiday was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to Portland in September 2023 when the Bucks acquired perennial All-Star Damian Lillard. Holiday was then dealt days later to the Celtics, moving right into the starting lineup and eventually earning his second career title last June.

But the Celtics now have lost a second member of that starting lineup for at least part of next season, with All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum having surgery after an Achilles tendon injury in the loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Simons could provide some of the scoring punch the Celtics have lost, having averaged 19.3 points last season after going for a career-best 22.6 per game in 2023-24.

But the Celtics will miss the defense and leadership Holiday provided. The two-time Olympic gold medalist’s scoring was down, though, with the 11.1 points he averaged last season his lowest since his rookie season in 2009-10, and more than eight points lower than the 19.3 he put up in 2022-23 with the Bucks, when he was an All-Star.

More than that, the Celtics were likely motivated to trade Holiday because of the $104.4 million owed to him over the remaining three seasons of the contract extension they gave him last year, on top of the huge deals for Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Porzingis in 3-team deal

Kristaps Porzingis is being traded by the Boston Celtics to the Atlanta Hawks, and part of what will be a three-team deal gives the Brooklyn Nets another pick in today’s first round of the NBA draft, multiple sources reported.

Porzingis is going to the Hawks, while Georges Niang and a second-round pick will be acquired by Boston, and Brooklyn will wind up with Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick that is held by Atlanta.

Owners approve $1.5B sale of Timberwolves

It’s official.

Former Walmart executive and e-commerce entrepreneur Marc Lore and retired MLB star Alex Rodriguez are taking controlling ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.

The NBA announced that the league’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the sale of the NBA and WNBA franchises from Glen Taylor to Lore and Rodriguez. Approval by 23 of the NBA’s 30 owners was required for the deal to pass.

Approval of the sale follows news in April that the two sides had settled a dispute over the sale, which was initially agreed upon in 2021. Lore will act as Timberwolves governor, and Rodriguez will be the team’s alternate governor. Rodriguez will serve as governor of the Lynx.

Lore and Rodriguez previously owned a 40% stake in the franchise, per the deal that was struck in April 2021 and placed a $1.5 billion valuation on the franchises. The deal initially called for transfer of controlling ownership to Lore and Rodriguez within two-and-a-half years, a timeframe that would have concluded in October 2023.

In March 2024, Taylor declared that the sale would not go through and that Lore and Rodriguez had failed to meet deadlines.

“I don’t need the money, so I think I’ll just keep running it and enjoy it,” Taylor said at the time. “I like my coach. I like my staff. This way everybody gets to keep their jobs, and I’ll be happy.”

Lore and Rodriguez countered with a statement that “we have fulfilled our obligations” and called Taylor’s statement “an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse.”

At the time, the Timberwolves were in the midst of a 56-26 season sparked by rising star Anthony Edwards that resulted in a trip to the Western Conference finals. Later in 2024, Forbes estimated the Timberwolves to be valued at $3.1 billion, more than twice the agreed-upon valuation from 2021.

OKC fans celebrate NBA title with parade

Jalen Ross couldn’t stop smiling after attending the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship parade.

Ross, 19, was among thousands of Oklahoma City’s unwavering fans who finally got to celebrate an NBA title after their team suffered through several close calls and heartbreaking moments the past two decades.

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers on Sunday to clinch the title. On Tuesday, Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star Jalen Williams and their teammates joyfully greeted their adoring fans, who lined the downtown streets despite 90-degree heat.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “From the days of wearing my KD (Kevin Durant) jersey every day, to crying when he left, having the Russell Westbrook Fathead in the living room during the playoffs, and all the Thunder playoff shirts, programs, hats hanging up on my wall to this day — it’s crazy to think about. But we did it.”