Looking Back: Did the Wizards Properly Manage Their Saddiq Bey Situation?

Despite getting drafted to the NBA a mere six years ago and never peaking higher than a solid role player, few contributors to the 2020s era of hoops have already experienced quite as many out-of-nowhere career turns as Saddiq Bey.

Forget the 51-point game he notched two years into the pros. A mere skim through the last three major transactions he was involved in provide zero consistency to his trajectory; after he was signed to the Washington Wizards to a multi-year contract while handling negotiations with a torn ACL, he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans last summer alongside Jordan Poole, only to outplay the package's financial centerpiece in earning a three-year, $55 million extension that'll keep providing him with paychecks until 2030.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Saddiq Bey has agreed on a three-year, $55.5 million contract extension with the franchise, plus a trade kicker, agents James Dunleavy and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports Management tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/sJIAVEhu6d
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 17, 2026

Cam Whitmore and Julian Reese ring familiar as other local DMV standouts-turned-Wizards, though Bey's wasted no time in cashing in on his value to a much higher degree than his recently-booted peers. He's proven himself as a handy shooter in his Pelicans-sponsored comeback, certainly enough for retentive Washington fans to wonder whether they got all of the value they could out of him.

Breaking Down Bey's Exit

As nice as his 17.7 points on 45.1% from the field and 36.7% from 3-point range were, it's worth remembering that the Wizards wouldn't be where they're at now with their high-upside roster had it not been for the opportunity that Bey and Poole inadvertently created.

The guard and forward arrived in New Orleans together at the expense of CJ McCollum, who was in turn traded for Trae Young after a few months of running up his numbers as a go-to Wizard. The Atlanta Hawks, another former Bey employer, paid off the Wizards' decision to move off of Bey's tradable contract and upside by pawning off one of the league's premium distributors.

Former Atlanta Hawks Guard Trae Young and Forward Saddiq Bey — Dec 20, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) and forward Saddiq Bey (41) react after a play against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Some sentimental D.C. fans were sad to see Bey go after he spent the entire 2024-25 season from the Wizards' bench, waiting for a hometown debut that never came, but he seems to have landed on his feet perfectly fine. As nice of a feel-good story as his redemptive Pelicans tenure has been, Washington's brass probably aren't dying for his services back.

The Wizards Moving with Ease Without Bey

As distracting as that trade kicker is to Bey's offer sheet, he's earned the $18 million and change he's expecting annually. Bilal Coulibaly, for instance, is presently projected for a similar figure, and he's yet to show anything resembling Bey's combination of burly scoring and that quick-trigger jumper.

The Saddiq Bey post up is automatic pic.twitter.com/5isNzgRt0r
— PPT (@ProPelsTalk) September 18, 2026

If he provides anything that'll intrigue anyone who's dubious as to whether he'll back up the aggressive extension, though, it was his intriguingly-impactful defense. Despite the team's depth, players who can make things happen on both ends of the court remains a particularly-glaring need for the 2026-27 Wizards, even if their younger timeline still leaves plenty of options open for replicable disruptors.

Had he remained a Wizard, Bey wasn't ever going to start over prized prospects AJ Dybantsa and Kyshawn George, relegating him to a wing rotation manned by Coulibaly, Will Riley, Khris Middleton and Justin Champagnie. There's no guarantee that he'd be able to translate that same Pelicans burst over to a platoon role consider just how long of a leash he enjoyed over 64 starts in New Orleans, and the Wizards, already loaded with developmental chips to groom, will appreciate their long-term swings over a win-now starter who further mucks up Washington's finances.

Basketball Reference's cold transactional accounts won't do the Wizards any favors in the history books. Devoid of context, it'll look odd that he was seemingly-tossed into last year's Poole trade like he was loose change, especially if he makes the most of his remaining decade in NOLA, but the Wizards should be fine in tackling the investment opportunity he helped facilitate.

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