Wizards Facing Backlash After Trade Announcement on Sunday

Wizards Facing Backlash After Trade Announcement on Sunday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

With their recent moves, the Washington Wizards have positioned themselves quite well for next year's free agency. First, they traded Kyle Kuzma for Khris Middleton at the NBA trade deadline, then traded Jordan Poole for CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk.

Doing so will give them ample cap space for 2027, when the salary cap is expected to go even higher. By then, Middleton, McCollum, Olynyk, and Marcus Smart will all be off their payroll, opening up a lot of cap room.

However, adding Olynyk was certainly curious on the Wizards' part. Not because Olynyk can't play because he certainly still can. He's coming off a season where he averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.

Olynyk has his own personal history with the Wizards from his days with the Boston Celtics. Most notably, Olynyk played a huge role in helping the Celtics eliminate the Wizards in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, as he put up 26 points in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter.

For that reason, Wizards fans were none too happy to see him become one of their latest additions. It is very clear they still vividly remember what Olynyk did that night.

Welcome to D.C., @KellyOlynyk!#ForTheDistrict | @RobinhoodApppic.twitter.com/OTe3Zl0EQu

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) July 6, 2025

"We will never forgive you for what you did to the Wizards on May 15, 2017," one wrote.

'THROW BEER CANS AT HIM!!!!!!!" another exclaimed.

"Nah (expletive) Kelly Olynyk. Don’t ever want to see him in a wizards uni," another demanded.

"Trade ASAP we will boo him so hard on his introduction, might as well save the trouble," another demanded.

Since Olynyk's time with the Celtics ended in 2017, he's bounced around with the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, and the Pelicans before landing with the Wizards.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.