ESPN's Shams Charania has reported that Free agent Nickeil Alexander-Walker has agreed to a four-year, $62 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks, plus a player option and trade kicker. This deal comes in the form of a sign-and-trade that will see the Minnesota Timberwolves acquire a 2027 second-round pick and cash.
This move is salt in the wound for the Pelicans fan base, as not only is Alexander-Walker a former Pelican, but this move also comes after the Hawks fleeced New Orleans during the NBA Draft. If you need a reminder, the Pelicans gave away an unprotected swap between the Bucks and Pels, as well as pick No. 23, to move up to pick No. 13 to select Derik Queen.
The Hawks are hurting New Orleans left and right this summer, as Alexander-Walker is an ideal fit on this current Pelicans roster. His ability to be a knockdown shooter and wing defender makes him an ideal 3-and-D wing in the league, and exactly the type of player the Pelicans are missing.
The amusing thing is that at one point, he was a Pelican, as Alexander-Walker was drafted by the organization in 2019 and spent two and a half seasons with the franchise. During his time in New Orleans, he was still just a raw prospect and wasn't the elite wing player he is today, as the Pelicans struggled to develop him. New Orleans then packaged him off alongside Josh Hart and other assets to acquire CJ McCollum.
This trade aged poorly, as with McCollum, the Pelicans had zero postseason success, and they gave away two future elite role players in Hart and Alexander-Walker. A considerable portion of the blame for giving away these two lies falls on David Griffin, who, before being fired heading into this offseason, was in charge of the Pelicans for six years.
The future is looking better
With Joe Dumars now in charge instead of Griffin, things are trending upward. Despite many, including myself, not loving the selections of Jeremiah Fears and Queen in the lottery, Dumars has a clear direction to build an offensive juggernaut.
That being said, New Orleans missed out on the opportunity to have an extremely high-impact player on the roster due to the mismanagement of assets by the previous regime.
Dumars still has a ways to go before fixing all of Griffin's mistakes, but he is making progress. The decision to trade away CJ McCollum and get back a much younger guard in Jordan Poole is a great start. Unfortunately, the chance to fix the mistake of letting Alexander-Walker go was just something that was out of Dumars' control.