There's a lot that goes into building a championship roster in the NBA. It takes patience, diligence, intuition, instinct, luck, and timing. In the past few seasons, the New Orleans Pelicans and Executive Vice President David Griffin have seen firsthand how difficult it is just to build a bonafide playoff team.
New Orleans hasn't had a lot of patience in the Zion Williamson era. It can be argued that they sped up their rebuild way too quickly after drafting the future superstar out of Duke, which has led to them being stuck in NBA purgatory, preventing them from ever getting over the hump despite their best efforts to accumulate talent. While they could have exercised a bit more temperance in their roster building, impatience isn't solely to blame for the Pelicans' shortcomings.
We know that New Orleans also hasn't seen much luck in this past era. This season has been a perfect encapsulation of the Pelicans' struggles, as they have a roster loaded with talent but have already fallen out of the playoff race due to their injuries. Because of their lost season, the team was preparing for a complete teardown heading into the trade deadline. Just when it looked the bleakest though, the Pelicans may have just gotten a stroke of luck and timing by way of De'Aaron Fox's trade demand from the Sacramento Kings.
The Pelicans need to go all-in to trade for De'Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings
Despite the hopelessness and dread that's surrounded the New Orleans Pelicans this season, there's a lot to be hopeful about from an outside perspective. The fear heading towards the NBA trade deadline was that no one would want to buy what the Pelicans would be selling.
The market for Brandon Ingram, an injured borderline All-Star on an expiring contract seeking a $200 million extension, was deflatingly dry until a recent report came out that the Toronto Raptors were interested in possibly trading for him. Still, one potential suitor isn't exactly a surefire deal.
The problem was that BI is a win-now player making over $30 million this year. There aren't a ton of teams out there who are looking to take on that much salary unless it's for a bonafide star. That may have just changed with the Kings fielding offers for De'Aaron Fox.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Sacramento is still looking to compete even after Fox's trade demand. There should be a ton of teams enthralled with trading for Fox, but not many will have expendable players that would keep the Kings in playoff contention. The Pelicans do, with nearly all of their veterans available for trade.
"League sources tell me that the San Antonio Spurs are De'Aaron Fox's preferred destination." 😲 @ShamsCharania with the latest on the Sacramento Kings being open to trade De'Aaron Fox. pic.twitter.com/O63Xh0m4wm
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 29, 2025
Through the past few years, New Orleans has accumulated a small collection of high-quality veterans that may have fallen a bit underrated due to their imperfect fit on the roster and the Pelicans' struggles. With talents like BI, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray available, the Kings could have their pick of borderline All-Stars to retool with while also leaving the Pelicans with enough talent to compete with Fox on board.
New Orleans also has ownership of all of their future first-round picks, as well as a couple of extra selections courtesy of the Milwaukee Bucks. Sacramento is reportedly uninterested in young talent, but the Pelicans have some promising prospects they could spare too. Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Yves Missi, and Jordan Hawkins have been deemed "untouchable," but a player like Fox becoming available really tests the limits of that term.
A week ago, the Pelicans were stuck in a Sisyphean cycle of injuries and shortcomings, grappling with the reality of a franchise reset. Now, they could suddenly have a core featuring Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, and De'Aaron Fox to build around; three stars 27 and under whose games perfectly complement each other. There's no reason that New Orleans shouldn't be one of the top bidders for Fox this season.