New Orleans Pelicans trade point guard Tim Frazier to Wizards for 52nd pick

The night before the draft, the New Orleans Pelicans traded away point guard Tim Frazier to acquire the 52nd pick in the 2017 NBA draft.

The New Orleans Pelicans have announced that they have traded backup point guard Tim Frazier to the Washington Wizards for the 52nd pick in the upcoming 2017 NBA draft.

Already equipped with the 40th overall pick, the Pelicans now have two picks in the second round (and overall) after parting with their first round pick for talented big man, DeMarcus Cousins.

During an up and down 2016-17 campaign, Frazier appeared in 65 games for the Pelicans; including 35 started and averaged 7.1 points, 5.2 assist, 2.7 rebounds on the season.

At first glance, the trade doesn’t not seem to provide much of an immediate benefit for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Parting with Frazier doesn’t clear much cap room for the Pelicans this offseason as he was only scheduled to earn $2 million next season.

In addition, Frazier was a big part of the Pelicans’ rotation last season. The probability of them drafting a player at No. 52 who can step in and contribute right away is extremely low. Instead, the likely scenario is that the Pelicans will use their newly acquired pick for an additional developmental player.

And as noted by Scott Kushner of The Advocate, trading Frazier to the Wizards doesn’t appear to be part of a bigger deal.

The move, however, clearly signifies that the New Orleans Pelicans don’t believe Tim Frazier is the long-term answer at the backup point guard spot for the team and are looking to upgrade in that area.

Next: 2017 NBA Mock Draft: Final edition

The first player to get a look at replacing Frazier in the backup role will be promising young point guard, Quinn Cook. The former Duke product and D-League All-Star MVP joined the Pelicans late last season and seems to have earned a chance to for a bigger role next year. Jordan Crawford is another potential option at backup point guard.