While most Celtics fans were sleeping late Monday night, Brad Stevens got the busy Boston offseason started by shipping Jrue Holiday off to the Trail Blazers for young guard Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks. The Celtics did shave off some money in this deal, but are still approximately $18 million above the second-apron threshold.
Expect more trades to happen in the coming weeks, with Kristaps Porzingis and Sam Hauser reportedly at the forefront of those trade talks.
Just two days removed from the end of the NBA Finals, and with only a day to go until the 2025 NBA Draft, general managers across the association are looking to beef up, or deconstruct, their rosters before free agency begins. Tuesday marks the third day in a row that NBA fans have seen a big trade come through, with the latest involving a former Celtic fan favorite.
Kelly Olynyk Traded to Wizards as Part of a Deal With Pelicans
ESPN's NBA Insider Shams Charania has been busy as of late, with his latest "Shams Bomb" headlined by Jordan Poole heading to New Orleans and CJ McCollum joining the Wizards. The Wizards also received former Celtics first-round pick Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick in the deal. New Orleans added Saddiq Bey and the No.40 selection in Thursday's draft, along with Poole.
This is the fifth time Olynyk has been traded in his 12-year career, as the journeyman will join a rebuilding Wizards team.
The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2025
The 34-year-old Olynyk was drafted 13th overall in 2013 by the Dallas Mavericks, who then swiftly traded him to the Boston Celtics during that same draft for three future second-round picks.
Coming out of Gonzaga, Olynyk has always been known for his rebounding and three-point ability as a 6-foot-11 stretch big. When Celtics fans bring up the Isaiah Thomas years, Olynyk's heroic Game 7 performance against the Washington Wizards usually comes to mind. In the deciding game of the East Semifinals, Olynyk gave the Celtics 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 26 minutes off the bench as Boston outlasted the Wizards at TD Garden, 115-105.
That same offseason, Olynyk hit free agency, where he signed with the Miami Heat on a four-year, $50 million deal. It was a gut punch at the time to the Celtics and their fans, but not paying Olynyk that offseason worked out for them in the long run.
He was traded from the Heat to the Rockets in 2021, then from the Pistons to the Jazz in 2022. After one and a half seasons with Utah, he was then sent to the Raptors in 2024. Olynyk spent just 24 games with Toronto before being dealt to the Pelicans in February, where he played 20 games last season. This leads us to now, as the Wizards will be Olynyk's eighth team over the course of his career.
Across 800 games in the league, Olynyk holds career averages of 10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 37% from three. He recently averaged 10.7 points on 38% from three across 25.8 minutes this past season with the Pelicans, showing that he still has some left in the tank in his age-34 season.
Always a steady contributor off the bench, Olynyk has been involved in his fair share of trades since his departure from Boston in 2017.