NBA Trade Grades: Pelicans Pull Off DeMarcus Cousins Heist
New Orleans Pelicans
What an absolute coup for Dell Demps and the New Orleans Pelicans. While it’s hard to give any trade an A+, simply because you never know how a player will fit in the locker room, when injuries will strike or when the NBA Draft Lottery might take a turn, this trade comes as close to a perfect score as you can get.
The Pelicans had been searching for a center for awhile now, hoping to move Anthony Davis to the 4 where he wouldn’t have to put so much potential wear and tear on his body. Though the Pellies boast the NBA’s eighth-ranked defense, Alexis Ajinca and Omer Asik could hardly be considered long-term solutions at the 5.
Enter Boogie, a bruising interior force who can bully opponents down low while also spreading defenses out to three-point range. He’ll probably never be thought of as a defensive anchor, but there’s too much talent here to NOT be excited about a star pairing of Boogie and the Brow.
Ever since AD signed his massive contract extension, the clock started ticking for the front office to put legitimate talent around their franchise phenom and start assembling a championship-caliber roster. This is the first move to put the Pelicans on that path, and the best part is they did it without having to give up anything too valuable.
Letting go of a promising rookie like Buddy Hield hurts, but it’s the no-brainer price you pay to add a top-10 talent like Cousins. The Pelicans rookie had averaged 8.6 points per game on 36.9 percent shooting from three-point range, but aside from already being 23 years old, he was only shooting just 39.2 percent from the field.
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With the Kings clearly overvaluing Hield, the Pelicans were able to string together a deal that sends away Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and the team’s first and second round picks in this year’s draft.
Evans was showing some signs of life after missing most of the season, but he’ll be a free agent this summer and his injury-proneness was a concern anyway. Galloway is nice young player at age 25, averaging 8.6 points per game on 37.7 percent shooting from downtown, but he was entirely expendable to get this deal done.
As for the picks, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the first-rounder is somehow top-three protected, which means if it falls in the top three, the Pelicans get to keep it. That’s highly unlikely to unfold, since New Orleans just put itself back in serious contention for the West’s eighth playoff spot, but it’s still incredible they were able to squeeze that protection out of a trade that was already highway robbery.
Not only that, but the Pelicans also snagged a useful role player and three-point shooter in the deal by acquiring Omri Casspi! Boogie and Casspi are good friends, and the seven-year veteran shot over 40 percent from three-point range the last two seasons before posting 37.9 percent so far this year.
Basically, the Pelicans were able to turn their trade offer for Jahlil Okafor into DeMarcus-freaking-Cousins once they added Buddy Hield to the picture.
The Pelicans were very close on a deal for Jahlil Okafor about 10 days ago, offering a similar package except it didn't include Hield.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 20, 2017
According to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, the next step will be trading Terrence Jones.
New Orleans now seeking trade partner for forward Terrence Jones, league sources tell ESPN. Mutual decision on behalf of team, Jones' camp.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 20, 2017
This trade comes with an inherent risk, since early reports suggest Cousins will not sign an extension this summer. As his 2018 free agency creeps closer, the pressure is still on Demps and company to put a playoff-caliber roster around this group to convince him to re-sign for the long haul.
However, while the prospect of Boogie being a 16-month rental is frightening, this was a gamble more than worth taking. It gives the Brow a second superstar to help take some of the pressure off the NBA’s 27th-ranked offense, it will help the Pelicans close the 1.5-game gap on the Denver Nuggets for a playoff spot and it presents a potential first round nightmare matchup for the Golden State Warriors.
The Pelicans feel confident they can re-sign Cousins, who is from nearby Mobile, Ala. as a free agent this summer, per source.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 20, 2017
The Pelicans absolutely fleeced the Kings in this deal, and in one night, the city of New Orleans managed to steal an All-Star Game, Wilt Chamberlain‘s All-Star scoring record and an All-Star center. Well played, NOLA.
Grade: A