Tuesday morning, the New Orleans Pelicans completed a deal with their division rival, the Memphis Grizzlies, to cut costs and make room for Bennedict Mathurin to join the team. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Pelicans are trading Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, a future second-round pick, and a second-round pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson.
This deal is happening only because the Pelicans opted to pick up Hawkins' $7-plus million team option ahead of last season and, after signing Mathurin, needed to duck the tax. While dealing second-round picks hurts in a deal that is strictly a salary dump, the bigger blow is parting with Micah Peavy, who would’ve been a great fit in new head coach Jamahl Mosley’s system. Peavy had an encouraging rookie season, playing 61 games while averaging 4.3 points per game and shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from three.
Although his counting stats don’t look great, there’s a reason why he logged 61 games played last season, and that reason was his defense. Peavy showed elite anticipation, fluid hips, and the ability to wall up opposing guards and wings, forcing turnovers and getting stops from the point of attack. Given Mosley’s reputation as a defensive-minded coach, seeing Peavy move has to be a blow heading into a season with a roster that severely lacks defensive talent.
The Pelicans are down to one perimeter stopper
I understand there are two sides to the basketball court, and having someone whose rookie campaign showed very little to be excited about offensively can be a turnoff for some. But look at this team's roster construction. Everyone can score; pretty much everyone on this roster is at their absolute best when the ball is in their hands, and they’re either creating for themselves or others. That’s why having someone who is plug-and-play offensively and doesn’t demand a ton of touches on offense is valuable. Especially when they are the level of defender Peavy is.
Outside of Herb Jones, Jamahl Mosley doesn’t have anyone whose number he can call to trust to consistently string together stops on the perimeter. Peavy was the closest thing the Pelicans' new head coach had to that, and now he’s gone.
For those who want to continue to drag Peavy’s offensive game, it’s also worth noting what he did in Las Vegas this year at summer league. Peavy averaged 12.5 points and 3.0 assists per game in Vegas while shooting 50 percent from deep on three attempts per game.
With an improving outside shot and the connective passing and IQ he has already displayed offensively, he could’ve been the perfect long-term role player for this team.
Second-round picks are far from guarantees in the modern NBA, and the Pelicans clearly hit on one with Peavy last offseason. Obviously, they had to move Hawkins, and why they picked up his option in the first place is a whole separate conversation. However, you could argue the Pelicans would’ve been better off giving up another second-round pick than keeping it and hoping to find another Peavy down the road.
Is there some bias to this piece? Yes. Did I really enjoy Micah Peavy’s rookie season? Yes. Does that invalidate what I said in this piece? No. The Pelicans don't see it in Peavy, and that's their right, but when this team is routinely struggling to guard on the perimeter this season, it’ll be way harder to justify this move than it is today.
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