Trade Deadline Fallout
The NBA trade deadline is unlike anything else in the sports world. It’s the rush of march madness, the mystique and promise of the NFL draft, and the excitement of what could be all rolled into one. Every year major players are rumored to move, and most years the deadline is extremely exciting.
This year did not fail us. With the Nets deciding the blow it up, the NBA trade deadline was one of the most exciting flurries of events in recent memory. Every fanbase grows more and more excited, impatient, and wildly erratic as the deadline grows closer.
This year, Pelicans fans everywhere expected a move. A “big move” was what many hoped for, and as the deadline approached, and we watched stars such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving get moved, the fanbase grew more and more unruly. As the arms race in the west heated up, the Pelicans essentially stood firm, making only a cost saving move ridding the Pelicans of Devonte Grahams contract, and making it possible to stay under the luxury tax next year.
Many fans are upset with this, but the major takeaway here is that the Pelicans did not overspend. While fans watched teams like the Lakers turn what looked like a bottom feeder roster with zero trade assets into a viable playoff team, the Suns make the second coming of the death lineup Warriors, and other teams acquire decent players, the Pelicans, who own a war chest of picks, simply stood firm.
While it is natural to walkaway disappointed with no major move, I would beg to differ. At the end of the day, a deal has to be available in order to be made. Guys like Kevin Durant realistically may have never been in play for the Pelicans, as it was long rumored that he preferred to go to Phoenix. With this, names like Mikal Bridges may have come to mind, but he was a major get for the Nets, and they realistically had no reason to ship him out in a 3 way trade, as he helps build toward the future.
The only other players rumored to be in play for the Pelicans were OG Anunoby, and potentially John Collins. In my humble opinion, John Collins gives you basically nothing that you do not already have on the roster, and the reported cost to acquire Anunoby, who is a marginal upgrade and also often injured, makes neither of those trades worth the value it would take to make happen.
So what does this leave you with? Who were the Pelicans to go after? Should they have made a move just for the sake of making a move? Let us not forget, this team, when rolling, was the #1 seed in the west. Sure one can argue that was a small sample size and unsustainable, but the team will still be extremely competitive come playoff time if fully healthy.
The only other option would have been some sort of godfather offer for guys such as Dame or Siakam, who may have been extremely unrealistic and still not have made the team any more of a real contender than they already are.
Walking away from the deadline the Pelicans now have acquired a decent defender who can knock down a three, which was very much needed off the bench. They also have maintained flexibility for re-singing some of their younger gritty bench guys, as well as potentially saved Willie from himself moving forward. Was it flashy? No. However, it may have very well been necessary.
Don’t worry fans, there’s a long season to come, and this team is young and blossoming before our eyes. Griffin believes in continuity and organic growth, not forcing a square peg into a round hole. Let's enjoy the ride and criticize like we knew better after the fact.
Cheers!
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