New Orleans Pelicans: Expectations for 2019 NBA Trade Deadline

The 2019 NBA Trade Deadline is fast approaching, and the New Orleans Pelicans are faced with a decision that will determine the future of the franchise for years to come.

The New Orleans Pelicans are the biggest question mark surrounding the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline. Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle are having the best seasons of their careers. All-Star Anthony Davis is having an MVP-caliber year. Still, the Pelicans are on the outside of the playoff race. It’s obvious this team needs to do something to improve. Making that move happen won’t be an easy task.

First, New Orleans needs to decide if it’s going all in on Anthony Davis. The five-time All-Star is set to become a free agent after next season. He’s signed with LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, before the beginning of the season. That’s leading people to believe that his next destination will be the Los Angeles Lakers.

If the Pelicans plan on putting up a fight against AD’s potential move to L.A., there are three players on this roster that shouldn’t be traded. Jrue Holiday, Julius Randle and Nikola Mirotic should all be off limits. All three of these players are fulfilling roles that are necessary for winning basketball.

I also believe that if the Pelicans have any shot at preventing Anthony Davis from becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2020, they have to make an attempt at continuity. Throughout Davis’ tenure with the squad, players have been shuffled in and out of town on a constant basis. The Pelicans need to prove that they are willing to keep the core intact, and add key players via the draft and free agency.

There is an expendable guard on the roster that could garner attention from general managers this week. Elfrid Payton has underperformed in his first season with the Pelicans. Yes, he’s missed 31 games due to a fractured finger, but even in the games since his return, Payton’s lacked consistency.

He showed flashes of brilliance with his season-high 12 assists and 15 points against the Thunder, but for the month of January, he’s averaging just 10.3 points a night along with a solid 6.2 assists. His two-point outing in 32 minutes of action against the Pistons indicates that he’s struggling to find his role in the Pelicans’ system.

Payton definitely has potential, but the Pelicans may be short on time for him to figure it all out. At just 24 years old, Payton’s upside is something New Orleans can sell to a team in desperate need of guard play.

The Pelicans may also decide that it’s too risky to bank on Anthony Davis re-upping with the squad with that supermax offer this summer. It would be detrimental to the future of the franchise to lose one of the league’s best players for nothing in return. The Pelicans could expedite the inevitable and get a ton of talent from the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Davis.

In exchange, the Pelicans should demand Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Some would argue that the Lakers would be giving up a lot of future talent for one player. Anthony Davis isn’t just any player. Pairing him with LeBron James immediately catapults the Lakers to one of the top three teams in the Western Conference. Not to mention it creates a roster space for the Lakers to add Carmelo Anthony, should they chose to help the veteran scorer find a home.

Lakers GM Magic Johnson is a shrewd negotiator and may find a way to avoid giving up all three players. Landing two of the three in a trade with Los Angeles, particularly Kuzma and Ingram, would still be a significant move for the Pelicans. It would add talented young athletes that Jrue Holiday would love to have on the wing as he pushes the point.

If history is any indication as to what the trade deadline will bring for the Pelicans, you can expect some sort of deal to be made. General manager Dell Demps has no problem pulling the trigger. After acquiring DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings on the night of the 2017 All-Star Game, he’s part of the reason the trade deadline has been moved ahead of the exhibition game in the first place. Nikola Mirotic joined the Pelicans days before last season’s deadline in a move that has been beneficial for New Orleans so far.

The Pelicans are going to do something as the trade deadline looms. There won’t be a playoff berth this season without a trade. The only question that remains is whether or not they will be adding someone to complement Anthony Davis, or finding multiple players to replace him.