The New Orleans Pelicans are a directionless team in this 2024-25 NBA season. Their roster, loaded with win-now veterans and All-Star-caliber talents like Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, and CJ McCollum, suggests that they're a team in title contention, gunning to make as deep a run as they can in the playoffs with an outside shot at winning it all.
Their record so far, though, betrays them. At 5-20 over a quarter of the way into the campaign, they virtually have no shot at making the postseason this year in a loaded Western Conference. They have a valid excuse for their poor performance thus far, as they've been severely hampered by injuries, at one point missing seven of their highest-paid players at the same time. While that's an acceptable reason why this roster can't be accurately judged based on their standing, it won't change the fact that they're more in competition for the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft than a spot in the playoffs come May.
Their disappointment goes beyond this single season too. This year is an unfortunate encapsulation of the Pelicans as a whole in the Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram era: a talented team who could never seem to stay healthy or click together at the right time to make any serious noise in the league. So while New Orleans could simply choose to accept their lost season, run it back next year, and hope for better injury luck, they have the opportunity to pick a more meaningful direction to try to change the fortunes of this franchise around. To do so, they'll have to blow it up. It's in the Pelicans' best interest to part ways with these two veterans this season, commit to a new way forward for the remainder of the campaign, and truly install a different identity for this team in the future.
The Pelicans need to trade these two players to change their fortunes
1. CJ McCollum
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that CJ McCollum is a name to watch on the trade market for the Pelicans. CJ has played admirably since arriving in New Orleans, evolving his game for the betterment of the team while providing a guiding hand for Zion, Ingram, and the rest of his young teammates. He morphed into a de facto point guard and legitimately became one of the most dangerous outside shooters in the league in his time with the Pels.
Unfortunately, he was brought in to help bring the team over the hump. While he did help lead New Orleans to two playoff appearances, the organization wasn't as ready to compete as they originally thought and his efforts were mostly in vain. Now, it's on Vice President David Griffin and the rest of the Pelicans' brass to do right by both CJ and the franchise by trading him to a team where he can compete for a title in earnest while bringing back an acceptable package for New Orleans.
At 33 years old, he's a depreciating asset, but he's an extremely tradeable piece right now. He's got one year left on his contract after this season, which makes him a low-risk gamble that doesn't require much commitment. He should easily fetch a future first-round pick and some young fliers in return from a contender. If they don't trade him before February's deadline, he comes a one-year rental for any team that would potentially acquire him, making him a much less desirable piece.
2. Brandon Ingram
I've talked a lot about Brandon Ingram's future with the Pelicans. I've covered his dispute with the team over a possible contract extension, with the two sides around $40 million apart on an agreement. I've surmised that his departure from the team might be inevitable following his signing with Klutch Sports, an agency known for granting its clients wishes by any means necessary. Most recently, though, I talked about how Ingram might be sticking around longer than expected, mostly out of necessity.
While it could be true that extending BI and finding a trade for him later on might be the way to maximize his value, it would be a mistake for the Pelicans to prolong this situation any longer. We just saw some pretty clear evidence of why. Ingram recently went down with a high-grade low ankle sprain that'll sideline him indefinitely. He's never been the most durable player but was able to remain mostly healthy this season while the rest of the roster crumbled around him, but, alas, the injury bug got to him too.
We've seen time and again teams holding on to an asset and awaiting the perfect deal, just for the player's value to tank in the end. It happened with Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers, DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls, Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards, etc. It's happening right now with Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz and Jerami Grant and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Dealing Ingram now will ensure that the Pelicans get something in return while also helping the team commit to a tank for the best possible pick in the 2025 draft. There's also the chance that Ingram doesn't re-sign with New Orleans at all and instead opts to leave in unrestricted free agency, leaving the Pelicans empty-handed. That's not a risk that they should be willing to take.