Should the New Orleans Pelicans Trade for Duncan Robinson?

With the trade deadline approaching quickly, the New Orleans Pelicans have been mentioned in rumors as buyers, which makes sense, as they are close to the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. They just need one more piece to push them to that next level and that piece could be Duncan Robinson.

On the season Duncan Robinson is shooting just under 40 percent from the field and just 36 percent from three, worst since his rookie season. But Robinson shot over 40 percent from 3-point range the previous two seasons, so we know he can shoot it.

The Pelicans need shooting more than anything and Duncan Robinson could help. They have a lot of inside scoring (14th in the league in points in the paint without Zion Williamson), but in today’s NBA, you need to be making threes to go toe to toe with some the best teams.

Robinson has veteran leadership to bring to the Pelicans and he has showed that playoff mentality when the Miami Heat went to the NBA Finals in 2020. New Orleans needs a guy with playoff experience as they try to make a run down the stretch.

Now the big question is, who would the Pelicans have give up to get Duncan Robinson? Josh Hart and Jaxson Hayes have been mentioned as possible trade assets but would the Heat be interested in a package built around Hart?

The salaries match up but Hart has made a leap this season and is the Pelicans glue guy, while Robinson has regressed and still has four years left on his deal after this one. He’s also older than Hart, so the Heat might be the team that would have to throw in another asset to make this work.

This trade would be a risky one for the Pelicans but would potentially give them an elite shooter to put around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, which something they need.