As expected, the New Orleans Pelicans and Executive Vice President David Griffin got busy ahead of the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline. They ended up making two moves, which was honestly fewer than a lot of fans were expecting and certainly fewer than the team led on. After the Pelicans listed practically their entire roster for sale with their season derailed by injuries, two trades at the deadline felt pretty mild, especially considering the craziness that went down in other parts of the league.
The first trade saw New Orleans sending Daniel Theis along with a 2031 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for cash considerations (read: money). Theis was waived by the Thunder the very next day, which only made it clearer that this move was only made to give the Pelicans more financial flexibility and OKC another draft pick for their cache.
The second trade was the one that everyone was waiting for, with Brandon Ingram going to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, a top-four protected first-round selection via the Indiana Pacers, and a second-rounder in 2031. It was always clear that New Orleans needed to find a deal for BI this season, as the ceiling on his pairing with Zion Williamson was surely limited and the team couldn't agree with him and his camp on an extension. Brandon Ingram's departure and the first-round pick they got in return were the focal points of the trade, but it'd be a mistake to ignore the veteran players that the Pelicans got back in the deal.
New Orleans could be a brief layover for Bruce Brown Jr.
When the Brandon Ingram trade was first announced, it was still several hours until the official trade deadline. Because of the time remaining, it seemed like another deal was coming stemming from the swap the Pelicans had just made with the Raptors. After all, New Orleans had just acquired two valuable veterans that they had no use for.
Bruce Brown Jr. and Kelly Olynyk would have been commendable additions if the team was still vying for a playoff spot like they planned to be before the season. With the Pelicans competing for lottery odds instead of a postseason berth, though, not immediately flipping them was pretty questionable.
Olynyk is signed through next season, so he could still prove to be a valuable piece of big-man depth and offensive juice for the Pelicans in 2025-26. Bruce Brown Jr., on the other hand, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
By trading for him, New Orleans did obtain his "early Bird" rights which will give them the ability to go over their cap space to retain him this offseason. But, because they don't have his full Bird rights, they're limited in the amount they're able to offer him, although that bar stands at over $39 million per year so they won't have to worry much about that.
They will have to worry about other teams coming to poach him this summer, though. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Brown Jr. is expected to "have plenty of interest in free agency, if he continues a strong return from injury." He also reported that both Brown and the Pelicans are open to extending their partnership.
New Orleans choosing not to reroute Bruce Brown Jr. to another team might be an indicator that he'll be here longer than his current contract, but they could have plenty of competition this summer if they want to re-sign him.