Pictures of Pelicans History: New Orleans Pelicans trade Chris Paul

Pelican Debrief’s “Pictures of Pelicans History” is a series looking at the best and worst moments in the New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets history.

In this installment of “Pictures of Pelicans History,” we look at the franchise’s lowest point: the trade of franchise savior Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers.

In the middle of December 2011, with the NBA crawling toward an end to labor negotiations and the start of a new season, the New Orleans Pelicans agreed to part ways with superstar point guard Chris Paul, who spent six impressive years with the organization. This came during a time in which owner George Shinn had given up control of the team as the NBA attempted to locate a new group to purchase the Pelicans. Less than a week prior, Los Angeles’ other basketball team, the Lakers, had had their offer to New Orleans vetoed by league officials acting as decision-makers for the team while it was in possession of the NBA.

Instead of a package headlined by Goran Dragic, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, the Pelicans attempted to re-stock with youth; as a return from the Clippers, the deal saw Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, and veteran Chris Kaman move to New Orleans, along with a first-round selection by way of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Less players, yes, but inarguably higher upside. However, the real problem here was the lack of a point guard involved who could replace any of Paul’s outgoing production.

That would ultimately lead to the 2011-2012 Pelicans’ downfall; with little NBA-caliber talent left on the roster after David West’s departure a season earlier, the Pels were left to rely on guys like Greivis Vasquez, Jarrett Jack, and Marco Belinelli too much in the backcourt. Those players are fine, and have been part of successful teams, but had no place being asked to create at the end of games.

The frontcourt was an entirely separate (and more dire) issue. Between injuries and inconsistency, the Pelicans cycled through bigs like a chainsmoker. Chris Kaman, Gustavo Ayon, Carl Landry, and Jason Smith each played between forty games and forty-seven games. Emeka Okafor played 25, and the bottom of the roster went through new bodies like an emergency room. Similes are the only way to tell the story of the post-CP3 Hornets.

Ultimately, the CP3 trade ranks among the worst moments in franchise history not because it pried a Franchise Player away from his franchise, but because of the disaster he left in his wake. What was accepted if not celebrated as a boon of a return right away became uglier as years passed; Eric Gordon struggled to stay healthy throughout the life of his contract, Al-Farouq Aminu never caught on and eventually left town, and the Wolves’ pick became one of the worst rookies in the history of the NBA in Austin Rivers.

Fortunately, the horrid team the Paul left behind in NOLA caught a break the next summer. The Pelicans catapulted their way into the top spot in the NBA Draft Lottery, earning the right to take a generational, unibrowed talent out of Kentucky the next season. In a bout of luck most franchises would kill to experience, one superstar’s departure begat the next one’s arrival. Chris Paul made way for Anthony Davis, and the team-building cycle restarted itself.

While most franchises’ worst moments include crime, putrid losses, or cheating, the misfortune of a small basketball market is such that one of the Pelicans’ worst moments befell them simply because their best player was tired of an undeveloped roster around him and the lack of money in the bank. By leaving town before his second contract was up, he was able to maintain leverage into Los Angeles and score a massive five-year extension by the richer Clippers.

Next: Pelicans Moments: Chris Paul shines against Lakers in playoffs

Thus is the way of basketball in New Orleans; for the past ten-plus years, the team has had the fixture teams tank to get: a cornerstone. And yet in none of those ten years has the team come out of the second round victorious. In fact, most of those seasons ended outside the postseason. Looking back now on the other side of another summer of roster shake-ups, the CP3 trade can provide perspective on the worst-case scenario for the 2021 offseason, when Anthony Davis’ most recent extension will end and he will be an unrestricted free agent. Oh great, I’m crying again.