Ranking the New Orleans Pelicans from most to least available before NBA Trade Deadline
By Willie Lutz
The New Orleans Pelicans are focused on building a young core that involves many current pieces, but their diverse roster is far from untouchable.
After starting the year 6-26 and bookended by a 13-game losing streak, many early estimations assumed the New Orleans Pelicans to be one of the sellers at the trade deadline.
However, the team is now 13-7 in their last 20 games and just added a now-healthy Zion Williamson to the roster just two weeks ago, putting the team in position to make a run at a Western Conference Playoff birth.
Counting down to Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline, there doesn’t seem to be a ton of traction around the league for any major, star-laden deals. However, there’s always the possibility that another chip will wiggle itself available, meaning the market could pick up a lot more steam.
This year’s trade market is a bit of an anomaly, as, during last season and offseason, the turnover in the league left many teams without a whole lot of flexibility in their payroll or roster.
There’s a feeling around the league that many players on expiring deals have a good chance to resign in the same cities this summer, as teams don’t have a whole lot of money to spend after last year’s historic free-agent run.
By no means do these rankings indicate that the New Orleans Pelicans are certain to make a trade before the deadline, let alone in the next six months.
After pulling off the Anthony Davis swap this summer, the team seems hesitant to make another dramatic trade that drastically blurs the future of the squad.
While the situation for the New Orleans Pelicans as buyers or sellers is “fluid” according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, there has been some speculation that the team is more likely to add than trade-off pieces at this year’s deadline.
However, it’s important to catalog the player assets on the team heading into a time like the deadline when the dynamic of the can turn on a dime with one potential move. The Pelicans are lucky to have some flexibility in their future, thanks to the way David Griffin positioned their roster in the summer.