New Orleans Pelicans: Lack of resources curbs trade deadline optimism

With little to no roster pieces available to trade away, the New Orleans Pelicans are set to be on the outside looking in on trade talks around the deadline.

The new year has been a breath of fresh air for the New Orleans Pelicans. After losing to the Brooklyn Nets in their first game of 2019, they have gone on a three-game win streak.

This string of victories hasn’t done much to change their position in the Western Conference standings, with the team’s 20-22 record spotting them at 12th and still three games out of the playoff picture. However, these wins have hopefully helped deliver some confidence to a Pelicans team that is underperforming.

New Orleans needs all the confidence it can get down the stretch of the season, because there is little sign pointing to this roster looking much different, or any different at all, after the trade deadline.

For most teams with all-in goals to contend, the trade deadline is the perfect time to cash in where they can and bring some immediate help to their roster as they set sights on the playoffs. The problem for the New Orleans Pelicans is, they don’t really have anything to cash in.

This is nothing new for New Orleans. During the entirety of Anthony Davis’ time with the franchise, there have only been two big midseason acquisitions: DeMarcus Cousins and Nikola Mirotic. Here is a list of some of the players aside from Cousins and Mirotic that New Orleans has traded for around the deadline since Davis’ first season in 2012-13: Tyshawn Taylor, Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton, Shawne Williams, Quincy Pondexter and Jarnell Stokes. All of those players moved the needle as much as you’d expect.

To give credit where it is due, general manager Dell Demps did a great job over the last two seasons in finding players whose teams were looking to sell immediately if the price was right. The only thing hurting his ability to replicate that success at this season’s deadline is the New Orleans Pelicans’ lack of movable roster pieces.

The trade for DeMarcus Cousins was made possible because the Pelicans sent out a young player with potential, in Buddy Hield, an expiring contract in Tyreke Evans and a first round draft pick. For the Mirotic trade, the expiring deals of Tony Allen and Jameer Nelson were attached to a pick and matching salary to get the deal done. This season, players with expiring contracts are players that the team has been counting on to contribute in the rotation.

The names on New Orleans’ roster with the most trade value outside of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday are easily Nikola Mirotic, Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton — all three integral pieces to the team’s rotation.

Remaining players with expiring deals that the Pelicans have at their disposal are Wesley Johnson, Darius Miller, Ian Clark, Tim Frazier and Cheick Diallo. Unless the front office is looking to fork over one, or possibly multiple picks, it might be tough to get far in trade talks with teams if those guys are their biggest bargaining chips.

The current trade climate of the league isn’t doing New Orleans any favors either. With only about five teams truly counting themselves out for this season and first and 14th place in the Western Conference separated by less than 10 games, the number of teams looking to sell on players is looking meager compared to seasons past.

To be fair, other NBA teams have absolutely done more with less, and when it’s trade deadline time, you can never toss any possibility out the window. New Orleans also owns all of its first round picks, but for the most part, expectations for an active trade deadline should be tempered.