OKC Thunder: Pelicans floor spacers offer intriguing deadline options
Obviously, the Pelicans situation changes dramatically in terms of objectives with the Davis news.
Trade Category:
Immediately the Pelicans shift from a team who was clearly in the buyer category to a full switch into the seller section as they enter rebuild mode.
Record:
As of this writing, the New Orleans Pelicans are seeded 13th in the Western Conference with a 23-30 record. Logically the Pelicans will also shift to having a vested interest in not trying to win games although finishing among the bottom three teams seems equally out of their reach given the bottom four teams (Knicks, Suns, Cavaliers, and Bulls) have a cumulative win total of 44 wins among them with no more than 12 wins each.
It’s not a foregone conclusion a team can’t pull off a Cavaliers fortunate ball bounce and move from eighth (2011) or ninth (2014) expected draft selection into the top draft pick. Although the revamped lottery system was designed to prevent that from occurring and to afford the bottom three teams with the best chance of winning the first pick.
Priority:
Move copious assets with the view of gaining draft picks and or young developing talents with upside who’ll fit the mode of a rebuild.
As for Davis, to reiterate there shouldn’t be an emphasis on trading him at the deadline unless a deal arises which the Pelicans feel surpasses anything they can achieve by waiting until the summer. The goal here will be to gain as much value as possible for a top five talent (which rarely nets the return unless a similar star is exchanged and no current top five talent would seemingly be available).
Key statistics:
Entering week 16 of action here is where the Pelicans are ranked in key statistical categories:
Offensive Rating: 5th (113.0)
Defensive Rating: 26th (111.6 )
Net Differential: 13th ( +1.5)
Points per game: 116.6 (3rd)
Offensive field goal efficiency: 48.1 percent (3rd)
3-Point percent: 35.3% (tied 14th)
Opponents points per game: 115.1 (tied 25th)
Opponent field goal efficiency: 46.3 percent (19th)
Opponent 3-point percent:36.8% (tied 26th)
Home: 15-8 |Road: 7-20
Versus the East: 9-10 | Versus the West: 13-18
Pelicans Salary Situation:
"Active Roster Cap: $113,306,373 Dead: $159,183 Cap Hold: $7,128,151 Total Cap: $113,465,556 Cap Max Space: $-18,724,707 Practical Cap Space: $-11,596,556"
To view the full team salary by player up to 2021-2022 click this link to Basketball Insiders.
Draft Pick Situation:
As per Real GM:
2019:
- Own first round pick
- Own second round pick
2020:
- Own first round pick
- Own second round pick
Free Agent status for the next two seasons:
As mentioned above the Pelicans will be looking to move several of the players on the roster with the intention of heading toward a full rebuild.
2019 free agents
- Trevon Bluiett – restricted
- Ian Clark
- Cheick Diallo – restricted
- Tim Frazier
- Wesley Johnson
- Darius Miller
- Nikola Mirotic
- Elfrid Payton
- Julius Randle – player option
Note: players listed with player options or team options means they are contracted through to 2019-2020, but their options will be exercised (or not) this offseason.
2020 free agents
- Anthony Davis – player option (has requested a trade)
- Solomon Hill
- Frank Jackson – restricted
- E’Twaun Moore
- Jahlil Okafor
- Kenrich Williams – restricted
Two Targets:
With the rebuild at the forefront for the Pelicans as mentioned above Moore, Mirotic and Randle become the priority assets to move with the view of gaining young developing assets or draft picks. So far nothing has been released regarding Jrue Holiday who would become the next best asset once Davis leaves.
The one contract the Pelicans would likely prioritize moving would be Solomon Hill who is still due $13.2 million in 2020 and has fallen well short of the expectations the Pelicans had for him when they inked him to a four year $48M contract. For the purposes of our primer, we’re centering on E’Twaun Moore and Nikola Mirotic.