The New Orleans Pelicans made arguably their biggest move of the offseason, signing wing player Bennedict Mathurin to a two-year, $16 million deal. Mathurin’s arrival means another player is being added to an already extremely crowded Pelicans roster. As a result, someone must go, and it should be Saddiq Bey.
To be clear, I think Bey is a great player. I also really like having him on the team. But with Mathurin now on board, someone has to go to make room for him.
I’ve suggested in the past that the Pelicans should just waive Jordan Poole. At this point, Poole should be near the very end of the bench. My guess is that won’t make him very happy.
The issue with waiving Poole is that doesn’t help the Pelicans save any money. Trading Poole would be preferable, but who is going to trade for him?
Another player who could be traded is Jordan Hawkins. His $7 million salary would create more than enough room for Mathurin’s salary. But again, is anyone going to even give up a second-round draft pick for Hawkins at this point?
Trading Saddiq Bey gives the Pelicans a chance to add more assets
Saddiq Bey is the guy the Pelicans should focus on trading. Bey is a solid all-around player who is coming off a career year with the Pelicans last season. Bey averaged a career-high 17.7 points per game while shooting a solid 37.6 percent from three-point range.
Bey is also on a very team-friendly contract. The small forward is making just $6.6 million this season. He is also in the final year of his contract. Given Bey’s on court performance, the Pelicans should be looking to either sign him to a contract extension or trade him before he hits free agency.
With the signing of Mathurin, I think the answer now is to trade Bey. Even with trading Bey, I don’t think Mathurin would make the starting lineup. You would probably have Herb Jones start at shooting guard with Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson starting at the forward spots.
At least with Bey gone, Mathurin would be able to get more minutes coming off the bench. By trading Bey, the Pelicans should be able to get draft picks in return.
Bey’s salary is small enough that a team wouldn’t be taking on too much salary. And the Pelicans could focus on obtaining more draft picks to either use for themselves or in future trades.
Given that Bey is coming off a career year and his low salary, I would think that there should be significant interest in him from other teams.
While simply waiving Poole opens a roster spot, trading Bey creates more playing time for their new free agent signing while adding to their draft capital.
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