New Orleans Pelicans: Why the Pels could have a quiet trade deadline

New Orleans Pelicans: These are David Griffin’s guys

Most General Managers are loathe to move on from guys that they drafted, signed or traded for, as it is essentially an admission of guilt.

This is why instant replay in basketball is stupid: you are essentially asking the ref who made the call to admit that they were wrong. Unless it is undeniable, few are going to do it.

This is the case with Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and even Steven Adams, as these are players that David Griffin specifically chose, so trading them away now would just be screaming to everyone that he screwed up.

Job security is not easy to come by in the NBA, especially if you are sending huge signals to your owner that you really don’t know what you are doing.

I am sure that Griffin would move one of these players if it were part of a larger deal, but otherwise they are here to stay, as trading them now would look like a panic move from a guy who is worried about his job.

All of these factors could add up to a slow and quiet trade deadline for the New Orleans Pelicans, who are stuck between buying and selling with a young team and a relatively new front office.