New Orleans Pelicans the using best of both extremes of team building

There have been a flurry of big trades in the NBA this offseason, with plenty more to come, but none of them are likely to involve the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pels already have a stacked roster with a good balance of young and veteran stars to go along with a strong and hungry cast of role players.

We’ve seen stars on the move recently, as Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gobert were dealt from the teams that drafted them in exchange for a treasure trove of draft assets.

Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Durant could be next and we could potentially see deals with 6-7 first-round picks involved. The Pelicans were briefly mentioned as a possibility for Durant, but as soon as the words “Brandon Ingram” were uttered, that possibility  was dead in the water.

These types of monster trades involving a team’s entire future draft fell out of favor after the Boston Celtics fleeced the Brooklyn Nets in the deal for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, using the largess of picks to completely rebuild their roster into the title contender that made the NBA Finals last season.

The two extremes of team building in the NBA are to either do what the Jazz are doing (sell your stars for huge payouts of future picks) or to be the team giving away all of their future draft capital in exchange for a star that can help them win now.

Luckily, the New Orleans Pelicans are doing a little of both, which is probably the best approach.

New Orleans Pelicans: Building with big trades and the draft

The New Orleans Pelicans are where they are right now because of trading stars Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday.

The Pels were able to bring back young players and picks that are now the foundation of their franchise.

But New Orleans isn’t just building though the draft like some other small-market teams. Because they got so much in return for their two stars, the Pelicans have been able to trade some of the surplus to get CJ McCollum, a star who can help them win now while their young guys are still developing.

The Pelicans were in the unique position to be able to use both team-building strategies at the same time, as they added their star with a big trade, but had so much in the coffers that they were still able to add two potential impact players in the NBA Draft.

Building a team entirely through the draft can be tricky, as you have too many guys on the same timeline and you have to rely a whole lot on getting lucky with your picks. But trading all of your draft assets away for a veteran star has also proven to be difficult, as the Nets found out again last season, giving up most of their future draft capital for James Harden, a guy who is no longer on their team.

The New Orleans Pelicans didn’t have to do either, but have been able to supplement their homegrown talent with a veteran star without sacrificing the future. This is how you build a sustainable winner in the NBA.