New Orleans Pelicans: No Draft Rumors Around Here

With an over abundance of guards who do similar things on the court, a shiny new coach, a motivated GM and a budding superstar on the roster, one would think that the New Orleans Pelicans would be more active on the trade front as draft day has finally approached us.

Instead, there has been nothing but crickets.

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: NBA Draft: Best Player Ever Selected in all 60 Spots

No “Woj bombs” have exploded Twitter by way of the Pelicans. ESPN’s army of NBA reporters have yet to make it clear that New Orleans “may” be interested in trading in to tonight’s first round by leveraging one of their three guards. I keep refreshing my timeline hoping that Jrue Holiday or Tyreke Evans to the Utah Jazz for pick No. 12 will become a real thing.

In today’s NBA world where collecting assets and player movement is more prevalent than even your most twisted NBA 2k MyGM fantasy (okay, maybe we haven’t reached that stage yet), the Pelicans have let the rest of the league wheel and deal while they sit idly by on the sidelines. Is this correct strategy? It very well could be as those who zig when the rest zag tend to be in a good hands going forward.

More from New Orleans Pelicans

However, and I realize I am being a bit selfish here, would it kill Dell Demps to make himself involved in at least one trade rumor to give the fans something to overreact to? I’m dying to dive into a fake trade that will surely never happen. I do not wish to relegated to writing about the “Top 10 plays from the 2014-15 season for the New Orleans Pelicans” or any “Season in Review” posts. I want to write about real possibilities that are being facilitated in real time, regardless if they end up being far-fetched in the end.

It is possible that Demps and his crew have laid low on purpose in order to strike big out of nowhere on draft night. Almost as if they are a snake lying in the weeds waiting for the grass to be cut. (Get it? That’s a DeMarcus Cousins joke.) There are just too many tradable assets on the roster to not at least kick the tires on some trade scenarios.

Unfortunately, obtaining a young, cost-effective asset hasn’t been the Pelicans’ game plan over the past few seasons. They have taken every chance to flip their last three first round selections for proven commodities. In 2013, they flipped the 6th pick (Nerlens Noel) and their 2014 number one (turned into Elfrid Payton) for Holiday, who is a good player when healthy, but hasn’t stayed healthy enough to make you feel good about dealing two first round picks for him as of yet.

Last summer, they flipped this year’s first round selection for Omer Asik, who was a nice big body to help get through the rigors of the regular season, but was ran off the court during the playoff series against the Golden State Warriors.

Those are the perils of having an owner who is hellbent on making the eighth seed in a loaded conference at whatever the cost. Instead of potentially striking big through the draft and keeping their cap flexible, the Pellies haven’t retained a first round pick for three seasons and have minimal cap room to exercise this summer. This all changes once the salary cap goes up next summer, but still.

Although the roster as currently constructed made its way to the postseason stage last season, this may not have been the best way to maximize its potential while Davis is around. Their playoff berth could be classified as a fluke because Oklahoma City was ravaged with injuries and still almost outlasted them.

As a distant observer, I just feel like there are moves that need to be made whether they are made tonight or sometime in the near future. I hope Demps has some tricks up his sleeve.

Next: Our Latest NBA Mock Draft

More from Hoops Habit

Home/New Orleans Pelicans