New Orleans Pelicans: 3 trade possibilities for first round pick

2. Jeremy Lin

Elfrid Payton, when healthy, has made a big impact for the Pelicans this season. With that being said, a point guard rotation of Payton, Tim Frazier, Ian Clark, and Frank Jackson just won’t cut it if New Orleans is serious about fighting its way into the playoff picture. Out of those names, only Payton touts positive on/off numbers per 100 possessions, with the others all being a net negative of at least -5.4.

Jeremy Lin could be the perfect backup guard for the Pelicans at the trade deadline. The New York Times‘ Marc Stein has already reported the Atlanta Hawks are looking to trade Lin in exchange for draft picks. A prototypical sixth man, Lin is averaging 10.7 points, 3.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals in just 19.6 minutes per game so far this year.

The addition of Lin would give New Orleans another viable ball-handler and initiator beyond Payton, while still letting Jrue Holiday flourish in an off-ball role. If Payton were to be injured again, Lin would be excellent insurance and help the Pelicans avoid falling into a rough guard rotation, which was the source of much of their struggles early on this season. Lin may not be an elite defender, but he is quite the step up from Frazier and Jackson.

Similar to the Terrence Ross deal, this would also give New Orleans some salary cap relief moving forward, as Lin becomes a free agent this summer. The loss of Hill, while excellent financially, would leave some minutes hanging at the small forward position. However, between E’Twaun Moore and Darius Miller, the Pelicans could easily cover that gap.