The trade deadline is a busy time for every team in the NBA, but it was especially important for the New Orleans Pelicans. For a while there, it appeared like the Pelicans would run the table at the deadline, considering they had the majority of the best openly available players with talents like Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and even Zion Williamson on the trading block. That all changed as soon as the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Anthony Davis.
Still, just because the Mavericks broke the hearts of all of their fans, the entire landscape of the league, and the internet in one fell swoop, that doesn't mean that the Pelicans could abandon their duties. Seeing such a massive deal go down should only have enlivened Vice President David Griffin and the rest of the New Orleans's brass with hope anew that anything was possible in the NBA.
At the time of writing, there are still several hours left until the official trade deadline of 3 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, February 6. That means there's still a lot that could go down with New Orleans or any other team in the league. But the day before the deadline, the Pelicans got plenty busy on the trade wire.
The New Orleans Pelicans' future is starting to take shape
Brandon Ingram traded to the Toronto Raptors
This was actually the second deal of the day for the Pelicans. After months of speculation about where Ingram would end up or if he would even be traded at all, he was ultimately moved to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Bruce Brown Jr., Kelly Olynyk, a top-four protected first-round pick in 2026 via Toronto, and a future second-round selection.
This news broke after it was reported that Ingram had two primary suitors, the Raptors and the Atlanta Hawks, who were neck-and-neck in negotiations with New Orleans. Ultimately, Toronto came out on top in the BI sweepstakes. The Pelicans were actually in the middle of a thrashing courtesy of the Denver Nuggets when the news broke. The Athletic's Will Guillory reported that Brandon Ingram left the Pelicans' bench in the second half ahead of the announcement.
Daniel Theis traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder
Leading up to the deadline, one of the league's worst-kept secrets was that the Pelicans would make a trade to shed salary in order to duck the luxury tax. They did so in one of the first moves of the day, sending Daniel Theis along with their 2031 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. New Orleans got nothing in return except salary relief.
Theis was supposed to be a stop-gap center for the Pelicans this year, manning the middle until Yves Missi was ready to takeover as a full-time anchor for a playoff-caliber team. None of those things came to fruition except Missi's development. Theis wasn't very impressive in his tenure in New Orleans, but the Thunder shouldn't need him much, if at all. He'll bring some veteran experience, size, and depth to a team hoping to make a return to the Finals this year.
Trey Murphy III ties franchise record
On Monday, February 3, the Pelicans dropped their 38th game of the year to the Nuggets, 113-125. While they took a much-needed L for their lottery odds, they also got some very encouraging performances to build off of, making it a perfect tank game.
Trey Murphy III poured in 41 points on 13-21 shooting, including a stellar 8-12 from deep, to go along with three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. He also tied a franchise record with 24 points in the third quarter alone. That matched Anthony Davis's 24-point first quarter against the Thunder in February 2017. Somehow, TMIII still isn't on Most Improved Player radars yet, but performances like the one he had against the Nuggets earlier this week should vault him into the discussions soon enough.