It's been nearly a month now since the 2024-25 NBA season's trade deadline. The New Orleans Pelicans ended up having a much quieter week than everyone expected from them at the deadline. Even with the Pelicans finally offloading Brandon Ingram, a 27-year-old All-Star just entering his prime, it was overall an underwhelming showing.
It was only disappointing because their actual moves paled in comparison to the hypothetical deals they hinted were possible, including even trading Zion Williamson. New Orleans had given indications that the organization was headed for a complete teardown and rebuild around their young players and the high lottery pick they'd get in return for this abysmal season. Salary-dumping Daniel Theis and pulling the trigger on an inevitable Brandon Ingram trade after so much speculation was bound to feel a bit anticlimactic.
Between New Orleans failing to live up to the lofty expectations they set for themselves at the deadline and all of the crazy deals that did go down around the association, it made it incredibly easy to forget about the pieces that they got back. Now that both Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown Jr. have been able to get a couple of games under their belt with their new team, we can start to assess the Brandon Ingram trade in its totality. So far, the Bruce Brown Jr. acquisition hasn't looked like a shrewd move on the Pelicans' part.
The Pelicans should re-sign Bruce Brown Jr. no matter what, but he's not making it easy
When the Pelicans first traded Ingram, I thought that they might reroute both Olynyk and Brown Jr. to contending teams in order to compound the package into further assets. They both are on short-term deals, with Brown Jr.'s contract set to expire after this season and Olynyk signed through 2025-26, so New Orleans immediately flipping them before the trade deadline would have made a lot of sense.
They held onto both though, giving an indication that they might have future plans for Olynyk and Brown Jr. The logic behind retaining Olynyk is pretty self-explanatory. He's a stretch big who can provide size and rebounding next to Zion without compromising the floor spacing, something that the Pelicans have wanted next to Williamson since drafting the former Dukie. He's still under contract next season, so evaluating him until next year's trade deadline won't really hurt anything.
Bruce Brown Jr. is a different story. His on-court fit with New Orleans is iffy at best. They could certainly use his defensive grit and versatility, but his offensive skill set doesn't complement Zion's game at all. Brown Jr. is best on offense as a mini power forward, capable of setting crushing screens, making plays in the short roll, and popping out for the occasional catch-and-shoot triple. He almost completely overlaps with Zion's optimal offensive role. So long as he remains a sub-37 percent 3-point shooter, it'll be difficult to find him a place on this Pelicans' team.
Furthermore, Brown Jr. is headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. The Pelicans did acquire his Early Bird rights, so they can go over the salary cap to re-sign him if they want. With the way he's playing though, it wouldn't be hard for a contender looking to bolster their wing rotation to price out the Pelicans for Brown Jr.'s services.
In four games with New Orleans, he's averaged just 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting a putrid 25 percent from the field in 20 minutes per outing. He's yet to his a single triple with the Pelicans. This, of course, is a tiny sample size, so he could easily turn things around and become a fantastic role player. Even if he doesn't though, New Orleans needs to make re-signing him one of their top priorities this summer.
With New Orleans holding his Early Bird rights, there's almost no reason to let him walk. Instead, even if they don't have him in their future plans, the Pelicans should simply re-sign him solely in order to retain him as an asset. He can easily be moved before next season's trade deadline, even if it's just for a second-round pick or something. It might seem like Bruce Brown Jr. is playing his way out of New Orleans, but the Pelicans would be wise to re-sign him no matter how he performs this season.