The New Orleans Pelicans have started the season 3-15 after dropping another one last night on the road in Indiana.
Though there are some reasons to be hopeful (mostly that there are other really bad teams in the Western Conference), the hole just keeps getting bigger for the Pelicans and it may be too deep to climb out of after Zion Williamson mercifully returns.
It’s not time to blow up the roster or anything, as there are signs that things could work once the team is at full strength.
Jonas Valanciunas is hitting 3’s at a league-high clip, Herbert Jones is providing the lockdown perimeter defense the Pelicans will need and role player Devonte’ Graham looks like he’ll be a nice fit once Zion gets back.
But there are a couple of guys who could be moved before the deadline if things don’t turn around.
The Pelicans could trade Willie Hernangomez
This is hardly a blockbuster move, but there would almost certainly be some interest in Hernangomez if the Pelicans made him available in a trade.
They probably wouldn’t get a ton in return, but if they wanted to shake things up they could probably move him to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Josh Jackson or possibly a second-round pick.
Jackson might be worth a flyer as a 3-and-D guy on an expiring deal, and the Pels were able to find talent in the 2nd round last draft, so another pick might interest them as well.
Josh Hart is the Pelicans’ best trade chip
Josh Hart has the perfect combination of production and salary to move at the trade deadline. Hart has the type of contract that other teams would love to get, as only this season is guaranteed with year two only being partial and year three a player option.
Hart has also been producing, hitting 40 percent of his threes, grabbing rebounds and playing his normal scrappy defense.
Hart’s recent rant about “youth” may be a sign that he is getting tired of playing with a rebuilding ream, so Hart would not only net the biggest return in a trade, but would probably welcome it if the Pels were sending him to a contender.
Could the Pelicans get a first-round pick for Hart? Possibly, but it’s more likely that they’d have to settle for a young, unproven player with upside or a guy who was underperforming but had a high ceiling.
I don’t expect the Pelicans to be big players on the trade market but they do have a couple of guys they could move for future assets.