The New Orleans Pelicans have been largely disappointing this season even though they are getting All-NBA level play from Zion Williamson.
Brandon Ingram also continues to impress, so the Pelicans have two of their future pieces in place.
But it has become clear that many of the rest of the pieces don’t fit, so the Pels could be very active as the trade deadline approaches.
By my count, the New Orleans Pelicans have eight players who could be moved at the deadline, which does not include Zion, Ingram or rookie Kira Lewis Jr.
Just about everyone else could be traded in the right deal, so we took a look at what each of them might net in a trade.
Keep in mind that these “trade values” are for the player if he were to be traded alone and not part of a bigger deal, which is unlikely, especially for the young guys.
Let’s start with the guy who is the least likely to be traded.
New Orleans Pelicans: Steven Adams’ trade value
It would be very surprising if the New Orleans Pelicans traded Steven Adams given that his extension hasn’t even kicked in yet.
Trading him now would be an admission that they made a mistake when they traded for him and I don’t think David Griffin et al. are ready to to that just yet.
Adams has improved the Pelicans’ woeful interior defense and rebounding considerably but there are some questions about his long-term fit with Zion Williamson on the offensive end.
He is on a reasonable contract for his production, so if the Pels did want to move him they would find someone who would be interested.
Trade Value: An expiring contract and a protected 1st-round pick