It's now been a full month since the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline. We've had plenty of time to digest the deals that went down, although this year provided some truly jaw-dropping moves that might require a bit longer to palate. The New Orleans Pelicans didn't shake up the NBA world the way the Dallas Mavericks did by trading Luka Doncic, but they did part ways with a longtime fan favorite in Brandon Ingram.
After years of mediocrity, the Pelicans finally put an end to Ingram's subpar pairing with Zion Williamson by sending BI to the Toronto Raptors in return for Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, and draft capital. At first glance, the package that New Orleans got back may seem like poor value. But due to all of the team's shortcomings and Ingram's recurring presence in trade rumors in the past few years, Pelicans fans were happy with the closure they got despite the diminished returns. They also recognized that the dampened value was a result of New Orleans's hesitance to cut bait with BI earlier, before his stock took severe hits due to repeat injuries, his clearly defined ceiling as a player, and his expiring contract.
So, while two veteran contracts, a second-round pick, and a future first might not seem like a great return for a career 20-point scorer like Ingram, it felt like the best the Pelicans could do at this point, lest they drag out Ingram's inevitable departure and contract disputes. As it turns out, New Orleans did have another offer from the Toronto Raptors, and they may have chosen the wrong one package.
The New Orleans Pelicans should have taken the RJ Barrett trade in exchange for Brandon Ingram
According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, the Toronto Raptors had another offer for the Pelicans in exchange for Brandon Ingram, one that would have reunited Zion and RJ Barrett. Obviously, they opted against bringing Barrett to the Bayou and ultimately took back the package with Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown Jr.'s expiring contract.
Per Scotto, the Pelicans balked at the idea of taking on Barrett because they already have their future wings decided with Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. New Orleans identifying TMIII and Herb as future cornerstones and wishing to build around them moving forward makes perfect sense. As does their disinterest in creating another logjam by acquiring Barrett, a point forward with a shaky outside shot and several other overlapping qualities with Zion.
That said, from a purely transactional standpoint, New Orleans took the much worse package from the Raptors. Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown Jr. may have had value to playoff contenders, but they won't make any meaningful impact on the Pelicans this season. Olynyk could turn out to be an important role player for them next year, but Brown Jr. is on an expiring contract. His salary coming off of the books won't offer New Orleans any meaningful financial flexibility this offseason, so they're stuck with re-signing him as their only option. If they fail to retain him this summer, it'll mean losing a significant part of their return for Ingram in free agency for nothing.
Even if Barrett was never going to be a part of their long-term future, his status as a 24-year-old borderline All-Star would have made him a valuable asset for the Pelicans. They could have used the remainder of this season to monitor RJ in New Orleans to see if they did have a place for him on this team. If not, they could have simply let him build his trade stock as much as possible in the remaining games before finding a way to flip this summer or before next season's trade deadline.
They almost certainly could have gotten a better package than Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown Jr. in exchange for RJ. There's a chance that swapping Olynyk and Brown Jr. for Barrett would have meant getting less draft capital from Toronto, which would make the Pelicans' decision much more understandable. However, there's a pretty strong chance that flipping RJ Barrett down the line would have netted them more than a single future first and a second-rounder.
Maybe the Pelicans will surprise me. Maybe Kelly Olynyk turns out to be the stretch big that the Pelicans have needed all along. Maybe Bruce Brown Jr. re-signs on a team-friendly deal and becomes the perfect utility player for New Orleans. Or maybe they retain him and flip him next season or later on for a great return. Maybe the package they got will turn out to be significantly better than RJ Barrett. I doubt it though.