The New Orleans Pelicans missed a chance by not trading for Bruce Brown.
Trade season is officially upon us and the New Orleans Pelicans already missed out on a guy they should have pursued.
Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the first of what is sure to be a busy day of bombs on Twitter:
The Detroit Pistons are trading G Bruce Brown to the Brooklyn Nets for F Dzanan Musa and a 2021 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 16, 2020
The Detroit Pistons traded their versatile guard Bruce Brown to the Nets for Dzanan Musa and a second-round pick next season.
If you are not familiar with either of these players you are not alone, as Bruce Brown has played his entire career on the awful Pistons and Musa has spent most of his on the Nets’ bench.
This was hardly a blockbuster deal that will shake the foundations of the league, but in my opinion, the New Orleans Pelicans should have gotten involved. The Pels have an ample supply of draft assets and could have offered the Pistons more than the Nets gave up for a contributor.
The New Orleans Pelicans should have traded for Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown is exactly the type of player the Pelicans should be looking for.
He is a versatile and committed defender who takes pride in guarding the other team’s best guy. He can defend both guard positions as well as small forward, so could have helped improve the Pels’ defense all over the floor.
Brown also played some point guard for the Pistons so could have been used as a primary ballhandler in some lineups, giving the Pelicans a lot of versatility with Lonzo Ball, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
I suggested Brown as an under-the-radar guy the Pelicans could nab in a draft-day trade and thought the Pelicans might have given up considerably more than the Nets did to get him.
Not only would Brown have helped the Pelicans’ woeful defense but he is on a very team-friendly contract that only pays him $1.6 million this season, a bargain for a guy who would step right into the rotation.
The Pelicans are going to be active this week and are probably too busy evaluating potential Jrue Holiday trades to pay attention to guys like Bruce Brown, but they missed an opportunity to get a contributor for practically nothing.