The New Orleans Pelicans may need a trade to upgrade their bench. Here are four players who could be available.
The New Orleans Pelicans went into last offseason needing to upgrade their bench depth, especially at the wing, power forward and center positions.
After two games it is starting to look like they still do, as Nicolo Melli and Jaxson Hayes have provided little behind Zion Williamson and Steven Adams.
The same is true on the wing, where Brandon Ingram doesn’t really have a backup and the Pels could use some size.
It’s far too early to panic, but the Pels’ lack of depth is going to come into play at some point in the season, so they may have to make a trade.
Here are four players who would be upgrades for the bench. They aren’t stars but would be better than what the Pels are currently running out there.
We have a couple of veterans who know how to defend, a project and a younger player who could move the needle.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need wing depth behind Brandon Ingram
Trevor Ariza
I wrote that the Pels could try to use Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a trade to get a veteran wing defender and most thought I was nuts after NAW had a good preseason.
He’s yet to play in the regular season and is buried on the depth chart while the Pels continue to struggle defending the wing.
Ariza is 35-years-old but can still play, evidenced by the 21 games he played in the bubble for Portland. He is currently listed as day-to-day, so teams will be waiting to see if he is fully healthy, but Ariza is a guy who is likely to get traded at some point.
He’s on the final year of a $12.8 million contract and can still be a solid backup 3-and-D wing.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels could target P.J Tucker in a trade
P.J. Tucker
The Houston Rockets are currently the hot mess of the NBA, with a mixture of unhappy superstars and COVID-19 regulation violators forcing them to postpone their first game.
If the Rockets find a suitor for James Harden, then they are going to blow it up, and the Pels might be able to take advantage.
P.J. Tucker is also on the final year of his contract that pays him just $7.9 million, so the Pels could trade for him without committing too much future money.
Tucker is a tough defender who can guard multiple positions and would add some much-needed defense to the Pels’ second unit.
Tucker may end up fighting Christian Wood for minutes, and if the Rockets do decide to rebuild, Tucker will not be part of the future plans.
He showed that he can still defend at a high level and his 3-point shot is decent for the position.
If the Pelicans could give up a young player or Melli and a second-round pick or two to get Tucker, they should jump at it, as he is the kind of defender they need off the bench.
New Orleans Pelicans: A trade with the New York Knicks
Kevin Knox
If the New Orleans Pelicans wanted to go the other direction and trade for a bench upgrade with some upside, then they could inquire about Kevin Knox from the Knicks.
The Knicks already had a bunch of power forwards and added two more in Obi Toppin and Omari Spelllman (another guy who could potentially help the Pels).
Knox had a promising rookie season before falling off in year two when his minutes plummeted. Knox is not going to get a ton of playing time for the Knicks, especially if Toppin continues to impress as a rookie.
Knox can potentially defend a couple of positions and has intriguing upside as a 3-point shooter. He shot 34.3 percent on 4.9 attempts per game as a rookie, so if Knox can ever put it all together, he could be a nice bench player.
He falls into the category of “low-risk upside” as it probably wouldn’t take much to pry him away from the Knicks.
Knox probably wouldn’t move the need much but he’d be an upgrade over Melli at this point.
The final player on the list could move the needle a bit for the New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trade with Cleveland for Larry Nance Jr.
Larry Nance Jr.
Larry Nance Jr. would be the ideal bench upgrade for the New Orleans Pelicans.
He is an explosive athlete who can play multiple positions, he gets a lot of steals and rebounds and he can score without having plays called for him.
He’s still only 28-years-old and is on a deal that pays him a reasonable $11.7 million per year for three more seasons.
He is not a floor-spreader but he brings a lot of energy off the bench and can do a little bit of everything that the Pels need.
Nance Jr. has played both power forward and center in his career and would give Stan Van Gundy a ton of lineup options with his second unit.
Floor spacing is not as big an issue as people think, and right now teams are just daring Melli to shoot so it’s not like he’s creating it anyway.
Stan Van Gundy’s offense is built around ball movement, so Nance would just have to keep it moving. The lob opportunities with he and Lonzo Ball are intriguing, as is his fit with Zion in small-ball lineups.
The New Orleans Pelicans will need some bench upgrades if they want to make a deep run this season, and should be looking around the league for trades.