Former Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk is on the move again ahead of his 13th season in the NBA.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports the New Orleans Pelicans are sending Olynyk, CJ McCollum and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft.
Olynyk, a Kamloops, British Columbia, native, began the 2024-25 season with the Toronto Raptors before being traded to the Pelicans in early February. With New Orleans, he played and started in 20 games, averaging 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
With Wednesday’s trade, Olynyk will join his eighth team since beginning his NBA career with the Boston Celtics, who selected him 13th overall out of Gonzaga in the 2013 NBA Draft.
After four seasons with the Celtics (2013-17), he signed with the Miami Heat, reaching the 2020 NBA Finals and playing there from 2017-21. From there, he spent shorter stints with the Houston Rockets (2020-21), Detroit Pistons (2021-22), Utah Jazz (2022-24), Toronto Raptors (2023-25) and Pelicans (2024-25).
Over his career, Olynyk has appeared in 800 NBA games, making 283 starts while recording 8,139 points, 4,124 rebounds and 1,975 assists.
He now joins a Wizards team that finished 18-65 last season. In Washington, Olynyk will reunite with former Gonzaga standout Corey Kispert, who has played for the Wizards since being drafted out of GU in 2021.
Olynyk remains the longest-tenured former Gonzaga Bulldog in the NBA.