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New Orleans Pelicans: Should They Trade For A Draft Pick?

ByOwen Sanborn|
Apr 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans players Dante Cunningham (44) and Norris Cole (30) and Quincy Pondexter (20) and Jrue Holiday (11) and Ryan Anderson (33) wait to enter the game at the start of the fourth quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 109-98. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans players Dante Cunningham (44) and Norris Cole (30) and Quincy Pondexter (20) and Jrue Holiday (11) and Ryan Anderson (33) wait to enter the game at the start of the fourth quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 109-98. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

That’s right friends, it’s the time of year where there is nothing left to write about the team so all we are left to do is speculate on random thoughts that may pop into my head. Gone are the days of analyzing actual gameplay or wondering whether or not Monty Williams is going to have a job next season, instead we get to dive into topics that may not even matter in a month or so!

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Come along with me on this journey.

For three straight seasons now, the New Orleans Pelicans have been rid of their first-round picks due to win-now type trades that netted Jrue Holiday and Omer Asik.

The cost of doing business was the sixth-overall selection in the 2013 draft (Nerlens Noel), the 11th-overall selection in the 2014 draft (Elfrid Payton) and the eventual 18th-overall selection in this year’s draft, which has yet to be determined.

Although that is a steep price to pay for those two players, the ultimate result was a playoff berth for this season, which was the ultimate goal all along. You can’t bash management for going through with those moves from that perspective.

However, electing to relinquish three first-round picks in consecutive drafts is a tough burden for an organization to overcome. It’s not like free agents are lining up every summer looking to play in New Orleans. This is not Los Angeles or the respective city that LeBron James is playing within in a given season.

There aren’t too many free agent splashes, making it tough to reload the roster without overpaying for players or giving up more future assets.

Therefore, building a team through the draft would be the most conventional — and cost effective — way to do business. With this thought in mind, I propose that the Pellies put one of their three guards (Holiday, Eric Gordon or Tyreke Evans) on the open market and see who is willing to give up their first-round pick in this draft in return.

For one, getting rid of one of these guards would not only clear up potentially murky playing time predicament, but it would also get some payroll off the books for the summer of 2016. It’s a win-win from both accounts.

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    • Would a team such as the Utah Jazz be interested in the services of Holiday, for example? I would think so. He fits in with their defensive style and has the playmaking chops to be a good pairing with their dynamic big man tandem. Utah projects to have the 12th pick in the upcoming draft, which is a fair price for the oft-injured Holiday and the perfect risk for both teams to take.

    Sure, Holiday is a great teammate and fits in with the team well, but his injury issues could only hurt his value in the future, not help it. If I were in charge of the Pelicans, I would be doing everything I can to try and see if I could flip him for a first-round pick in this draft before its too late.

    The NBA draft tends to be a crapshoot from the ninth pick on, giving Utah a reason to give up their pick in order to receive a proven commodity, while also giving New Orleans the same incentive to have a lottery ticket that could potentially turn to gold in the future.

    Who knows whether or not the Pelicans are going to be proactive in regards to sneaking into the first round of this year’s draft. Young players can take a ton of time to develop, and this regime may be in a place where they want to keep moving forward with the roster, not backward. And I get that.

    I just think the opportunity to go get a young, cheap asset should be more of a priority for this roster. But hey, that’s just me.

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