The Phoenix Suns’ trade for Chris Paul will impact the New Orleans Pelicans
The NBA trade season started this morning and already there has been a blockbuster trade that will impact the New Orleans Pelicans.
No, the Pels did not trade Jrue Holiday yet, but the Phoenix Suns trading for Chris Paul will have an impact on the Pels even though they weren’t involved.
Adrian Wojnarowski announced the trade on Twitter, and the Suns will reportedly get Chris Paul and Abdel Nader in exchange for Kelly Oubre, Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a 2022 first-round pick.
This is a deal that seemingly helps both teams, as the Suns get a bonafide star to put with Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, while the Thunder get a couple of rotation players, a few projects and add to their ever-growing stockpile of draft assets.
The Thunder now have some big expiring contracts to move and could net even more picks to their infinite horde.
The Suns, who went undefeated in the bubble, added to their talent in an effort to win now and appease Booker, who was reportedly unhappy with the direction of the franchise.
This is big news for the Western Conference and the New Orleans Pelicans in particular.
How does the Chris Paul trade affect the New Orleans Pelicans?
The first thing this does is take Chris Paul off the market. There were some reports that the Pelicans had an interest in trading for the veteran point guard.
Nothing ever materialized and the trade seemed far-fetched to begin with but this is one of many options that is now off the table for the Pels.
Chris Paul could have been a fit but his contract is massive and the Thunder weren’t interested in taking back money.
Here are two more ways the Pelicans will be affected by this trade.
New Orleans Pelicans: How the Pels are impacted by Chris Paul trade
The West just got even better
The Suns ended up ahead of the Pelicans in the final 2019-20 standings, besting New Orleans by four games.
The Pels played terribly in the bubble, so the Suns were able to catapult past the Pels by going undefeated in Orlando.
Prior to the Suns’ unlikely run, the Pels appeared to be the better team and were certainly headed in a better direction after drafting rookie phenom Zion Williamson.
But now? Depending on what happens with the Jrue Holiday trade, the Suns have to be considered the favorite out of the Pelicans, Spurs, Kings and Trail Blazers teams that were all lumped together heading into the bubble.
The Suns didn’t get Chris Paul to be an eight seed, and must believe they can propel themselves into the top half of the conference with this trade.
That makes the West even tougher because you can’t count out OKC just because they traded their star. They will still be in the mix for a playoff spot which means at least one team from last year’s playoffs may be pushed out.
Who is that going to be? The smart money is on Houston, who is trying to trade James Harden and may be worse next year.
But other than that, just about every other team is going to be better, which means the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have a tough time making the playoffs unless they improve.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Chris Paul trade sets the market for Jrue Holiday
The Jrue Holiday trade
The Pelicans are shopping Jrue Holiday and there are reportedly as many as ten teams interested in his services.
The Pels should be ecstatic that the Thunder were able to get so much for Chris Paul, as it could mean the market will be even better for Jrue Holiday.
Paul is the better overall player but he is nearly five years older and making substantially more than Jrue Holiday at this point in their respective careers.
Holiday’s defense also makes him more appealing to teams like the Nets or Nuggets, who already have offensive stars to build around.
If the Thunder were able to get two solid players, two prospects and a first-round pick for Paul, then the Pelicans should be able to get a similar haul for Holiday, and maybe even better.
There a number of juicy trade rumors out there and the Pelicans could be a very different, better and deeper team by this time next week.
The trade season started with a bang and could get even more interesting as the New Orleans Pelicans weigh their options and hunt the league for the best Jrue Holiday deal.