New Orleans Pelicans: Trade or Keep? Where each Pelican fits at deadline

New Orleans Pelicans: Trade or keep? Centers

Steven Adams-keep

I know a lot of people are concerned with the fit with Zion and Ingram and those concerns are valid. Adams takes up a lot of space in exactly the area the Pels two best players are trying to go with the ball, so it makes some sense when people say it won’t work with him offensively. But the Pels offense is not the problem, it’s their woeful defense and Adams is one of the only guys who plays it. The Pels could definitely be talked into trading him if the deal was right but I am far more concerned with the other guys than Adams. With the right roster of role players, Adams and Zion can work together, but the Pels need other players who can defend and shoot and right now they don’t have them.

Jaxson Hayes: trade

I hated the Jaxson Hayes pick at the time and hate it even more now. David Griffin seems to be infatuated with “athleticism” but doesn’t seem to care if the guys have a single usable basketball skill, which Hayes currently does not. His ceiling is basically a guy who can block shots and run the floor, which is pretty low considering where he was drafted. And though he might have a highlight reel dunk now and then, Hayes has not even shown many flashes of the player he would need to be to be effective around Zion and Ingram. Choosing a center with nary a single recognizable basketball skill other than the nebulous “athleticism” was a bad call. He is still very young and could definitely evolve over time but until then the Pelicans wasted a top-ten pick on a guy who wouldn’t be a fit if he was in peak form.

Willy Hernangomez: keep

Hernangomez has shown he can be an effective backup in this league. He’s making a low salary and might be attractive to other teams in a trade, but the Pels need more depth, not less, so trading him wouldn’t really help. There is even an argument that the Pels should try to move Adams and just go with guys like Hernangomez, who make little and contribute in ways that help the Pelicans, namely blocking shots and grabbing rebounds.