The New Orleans Pelicans were supposed to be the "it" team of the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline. After their season was completely derailed due to injuries early in the campaign, they were slated to head into the league's busiest week with several headliner candidates for deals. Equipped with expendable talents like Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and possibly even former number-one pick Zion Williamson, the Pelicans should have been the center of attention at the deadline.
That all changed when the Dallas Mavericks and their President of Basketball Operations Nico Harrison pulled the trigger on one of the most earth-shattering and shocking moves in NBA history, sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team trade that brought Anthony Davis to the Big D.
We've never seen a swap quite like this before, but its magnitude is bound to send shockwaves across the association. There's already a report that teams have changed their flights on February 6 to prevent any potential awkward trips in anticipation of potential ripple deals. While it's pretty much guaranteed that the Pelicans won't be making the most notable trade of the year anymore, the Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis swap may actually work out in New Orleans's favor.
The Pelican could pull off a massive trade out of the blue like the Mavericks and Lakers
Despite all of the anticipation surrounding the Pelicans organization leading up to the trade deadline, the rumor mill has been relatively dead regarding New Orleans. Earlier in the year, we got massive news stating that practically the entire roster would be available for deals. Even with the team basically announcing a fire sale and placing several high-profile players on the block, there's been little talk and reported interest in the Pelicans.
Considering that it's in New Orleans's best interest to shed its veterans this year to lose as many games as possible and maximize its odds in the NBA Draft lottery, it was concerning that there hasn't been much reported interest in players like Ingram and McCollum. In the past couple of weeks, a few morsels have dropped regarding BI's availability, but one of his supposed suitors may have fallen through, as the San Antonio Spurs just traded for former Sacramento Kings All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox.
With just days left before the trade deadline, it's hard not to fear that the Pelicans could wind up just staying put and cornering themselves back into NBA purgatory this year. In this day and age, it seems like we get spoilers for everything. Fox has been linked to the Spurs since the news broke that the Kings were fielding offers for him. As part of that trade, Sacramento got Zach LaVine, who they've literally been rumored to be interested in for several years. That's why it's so concerning that it's been practically radio silence regarding the Pelicans' available assets leading up to the trade deadline.
Thankfully, this Luka Doncic trade has shown us that trades can still be made in the dark, even massive, blockbuster deals. Maybe Vice President David Griffin has a few trump cards up his sleeve that no one will see coming.