New Orleans Pelicans and Tyreke Evans
Sacramento Bee writers are reporting that the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings have agreed on a sign-and-trade deal for Tyreke Evans, as expected and noted last evening. The Pelicans will be sending last season’s starting center, Robin Lopez, and starting point guard, NBA’s Most Improved Player Award runner-up, Greivis Vasquez.
Update: The Pelicans sent out Terrel Harris and his unguaranteed contract in the trade, received cash, and Jeff Withey, as well. Here is the post about Withey.
- Evans’ Profile by James Grayson
- Tyreke Evans on Basketball Reference
- Tyreke Evans on 82 games
- Robin Lopez Review
- Greivis Vasquez Review
Evans’ deal is reported to be for 4 seasons and a total of $44m, give or take. The reports are unclear at this point in terms of exact value, signing bonus, incentives, options, more boring stuff . . . but none of that matters at the moment. These will affect the Pelicans’ long-term salary and Tyreke’s portability. We’ll get all that sorted in the coming days.
Tyreke Evans is a powerful guard, standing at 6’6″, 220 lb., who will reportedly sign on to be a so-called “super-sixth man” in the the mold of Manu Ginobili on the San Antonio Spurs. He has played both traditional guard positions and some small forward. He has improved his shooting and some other areas of his game last season, but these were hidden partially by the chaos in Sacramento. His assisting has consistently declined in volume in recent years. Whether this is a cause or an affect remains to be seen.
Last season, Ryan Anderson played significant minutes off of the bench. What the Evans trade says for Anderson’s role . . . and Davis’ role . . . in the presence of the former fourth pick of the draft and Rookie of the Year and the absence of Robin Lopez remains to be seen.
New Orleans Pelicans and Free Agency
Like all trades and signings going on, none of these are officially official until the paperwork is signed and filed, and that can not be done until July 10. These seemingly boring detail is actually quite important.
This trade though agreed to after the Jrue Holiday trade, can actually be processed after additional moves to use the existing cap space, which is about $4.5m. The exact amount is unclear due to incentives in Holiday’s deal.
The punchline is: Depending, the Pelicans have ~$5.5m – ~$7m left to spend on a semi-major player.
Skip to the next section if you don’t care about how the sausage is made.
Here’s how it can work:
- The Noel for Holiday and Jackson trade reduces cap space to around $4.5m.
- This deal must be processed first. Since the salaries of Holiday and Noel do not match, the team must remain under the cap at this point.
- This $4.5m and the unguaranteed contracts of Darius Miller, Brian Roberts, and Lance Thomas, totaling $3,346,330, can be used to acquire an ~$7m player or combination of players via a salary dump trade for some cash strapped team or ~$5.5m to spend in free agency.
- Roberts’ deal will reportedly be $50,000 guaranteed if not waived by July 8, but this does not affect the above materially.
- This Cap Room vanishes once the Evans trade is executed unless something changes. So, that cap room is “use it or lose it” money.
- The team can also court players to use the $2,652,000 Room Mid-Level Exception on. This can be split or used on one player, either in trade or free agency, but can not be combined with Cap Room.
- Further moves would have to then be either trades or the signing of minimum contract players, like Roger Mason, Jr. last season. This would include Pierre Jackson likely if he is not traded away.
The above shows that the Dell can grab another significant asset at the expense of unguaranteed minimum contract players either in trade or by waiving them.
Before you ask: if any of those players are waived or traded away, that player can not return to the Pelicans’ roster this season.
Other notes: This assumes Aminu and Henry’s Bird Rights are waived, and that seems highly likely. They can be signed, included in sign-and-trade, but must be signed using Cap Room, the Room MLE, or take a minimum contract. Same applies to Amundson and Mason, but they don’t have Bird Rights, so whatever. Also, the team can not get the Full Mid-Level Exception this season or the Biannual Exception. The also can not use the Amnesty provision on any player or trade a player to be Amnestied (doesn’t work that way). The difference between the amount of salary that can be acquired in trade compared to free agency is to do the incomplete roster charge.
The New Orleans Pelicans Model
The fact that there is Cap Room to spend does not mean that it should be spent. Dell should stick to the Pelicans Model, not overpaying for players whose value is not depressed. Spending this money can have huge long-term effects three years down the line if the team is bumping up against the Luxury Tax Line. If spending now on an “ok” player may hamstring the team when the set of available moves is shrinking, then Dell needs to consider the near-term expenditure. If he can get a guy that fits the plan in some way . . . as a player or asset . . . then grab’n’go!
The range of salary they Pelicans can offer exceeds the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception of $5,150,000 by a good amount. This means that the Pelicans can still outbid teams over the Cap who only have the MLE to use to acquire players. Also, since they can take a highly unbalanced trade, they can also offer teams looking dump salary even greater Cap relief than teams over the Cap. Every little edge counts in the Pelicans Model.
If you thought you could unbuckle once Evans was a lock . . . sorry. The clock is ticking. We don’t know if anything will happen. We don’t know how long past the start of business on July 10 that the team make the Evans trade official. We don’t know who the targets are, but we know the areas of need.
Who knows . . . maybe Dell will provide Pelicans fan some extra fireworks as early as tomorrow night.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Bonus: Tyreke’s brother thinks he’ll wear “1” on his jersey.
Lagniappe: Tyreke Evans on twitter
Must Have: Dariusz Ejkiewicz, the site’s banner designer and big time Pelicans fan has provided a Tyreke Evans Wallpaper. This is the small preview image. Click the picture or go here to get the real deal.
source: Dariusz Ejkiewicz from LowGravity.pl
94 responses to “New Orleans Pelicans to Acquire Tyreke Evans”
Now that we have signed Tyreke Evans I would look to trade Eric Gordon for Klay Thompson in trade discussed during the season. Trade Gordon for Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli, and Richard Jefferson( to make contracts work and whom we buy out).
AngryCookies While I would dearly love that, I wonder if the Warriors would actually give up Thompson now, after his playoff performances. If it’s too one-sided for us, they aren’t THAT stupid are they? Anyone else think I’m overstating this?
prpcpa1AngryCookiesAnyone else think I’m overstating this?
No, you’re absolutely correct. Trades need some basis in reality.
We definitely have a talented young core established with Anthony Davis (20), Jrue Holiday (23), Tyreke Evans (23), Eric Gordon (24), and Ryan Anderson (25). All 5 of these guys can score, run, and should be an exciting group to watch over the next few years since all of these guys are on multiple year deals.
I think we are a playoff team now and I don’t think we are far from contending in the West. In my opinion, we are 2-3 pieces away. We need a defensive minded C, a defensive minded SF, and a 3 point specialist.
cnoel23 We have some cap room left and an exception to get those two pieces. Corey Brewer or Copeland to play SF and a stop gap big man to give you 12-15 minutes and six fouls. Gonna be a real nice squad
Awesome news. These are young guys that we will be playing together for a long time. Hopefully, they will grow together as basketball players, and develop chemistry together as a team. And it will all happen in that new state of the art practice facility, so the potential is high. Things are looking up. Playoffs?!
lsucpolk Depending on how Dwight saga plays out and who gets lucky vs. unlucky with injuries (we are due to get lucky, right?!?!?) I think 6-8 seed is VERY realistic.
But this year will have its bumps because these guys are learning to play together. Talent will only get you so far, they gotta learn the offensive and defensive systems and learn where each other like the ball, etc.
But by year 2. Could be very, very scary
i hope cousins is packaged as well by the kings along with tyreke…..:)
mojart Dont get greedy. Dell has done a crazy good job. Let’s appreciate all he is done before we ask for more
Michael McNamara mojart Who knows….maybe….
The one player I don’t feel fits is Austin Rivers. I know his apologists will come on here and say that the current roster still opens up 15 minutes a game for Rivers. Yes, but the bigger question is do we have a need for an inexperienced, developing, trigger happy backup earning $2.5M this year and $3.1M next year?? Does this really fill a need?
Assuming we keep Holiday, Gordon, and Evans, Rivers will never crack the starting lineup over the next two years barring injury. You can’t tell me that Rivers is our starting SG or PG of the future. We have 3 guards 24 and under in Holiday, Gordon, and Evans that will all be under 3-4 year deals going forward.
Rivers is NOT our SG/PG of the future and the current roster confirms that.
What is Dell’s plan for Rivers?
a.) Developing backup for the next two years
b.) Trade Eric Gordon to make room for an expanded role for Rivers
c.) Trade him now
d.) See if he can improve as a backup and trade him to a contender at the trading deadline
I don’t see any other option. I know that the popular answer will be B since we have all been interested in moving Gordon at one point or another over the past year.
IDEA – Since the Bobcats have the cap room, I would love to move Eric Gordon for Ben Gordon and their 2nd round pick next year. Ben Gordon is entering a contract year and would be a solid veteran presence for the upcoming season. Likely, the pick would an early 2nd round pick in the very popular 2014 draft. The benefit there is that say it is the 35th pick and our 2nd round pick next year ends up being the 48th pick. Dell could then package the 35th, 48th, and lets say Austin Rivers for maybe the 25th pick. This would mean that we could still have a late first round pick in next years draft.
cnoel23 Rivers will get the minutes he should have gotten last year; 10-14. He was a long term project forced to play too much, now you dont have to force that on him anymore.
Develop him slow and if he pans out, it gives you tons of options down the line.
Don’t have to do anything right now. These guys are locked up for multiple years- all of them.
Take it slow, see how the chemistry develops and always listen to offers, but now you are in a position of power, as opposed to having to move guys for pennies on the dollar.
Nice position to be in
Michael McNamara cnoel23 Exactly! Rivers was our project player that we took last year. That’s why it made sense to trade our project pick this year (Noel)! I know they have a plan for him and 10-15 mins sounds perfect, they only gave him more last year because they could. Last year development mattered and wins didn’t, this year wins will matter!
Michael McNamara cnoel23 I really feel like Austin will look amazing against other team’s 2nd/3rd units. His defense improved dramatically last year, and the game was just slowing down for him when he got hurt.
Ideally, he’s a guy who you throw in for a few minutes here and there, and if any of our top 3 guards get hurt, he can fill in for an additional 5-10min so we aren’t wearing out the other 2.
Can we all agree on one thing right now:
Thunder model was NOT the way to go!
Dell now has 7 guys who are all 25 or under locked up to multi year deals, all with enormous potential. He did all that in two years. Meanwhile, the Bobcats and others will be trying to copy what the Thunder did for the next ten years.
Dell picked the right model
Michael McNamara Agree. You have to establish a young core group of talented players when you are not a playoff team. Dell definitely picked the right model and it will be an exciting group to watch.
I think we are very capable of not just making the playoffs but getting to the second round if we are healthy…..which I realize is a HUGE “IF”.
Michael McNamara can we say to other teams NOW that they should do the PELICANS MODEL
mojart Michael McNamara Not until they actually play a bunch of games and win them…
Michael McNamara
Agreed, following the “Thunder model” is basically impossible. They basically picked up two franchise guys who were AWFUL in their first two years.
Can you think of any other superstar in league history who led a team to back-to-back top 5 picks like Durant?
kierantk Michael McNamara Well, it’s possible, and we know that because someone’s already done it. The model is so improbable, though, needing so many pieces to fall into place, that the chances of it working again are infinitesimal.
Gordon, Jrue, and Evans are all friends. Gordon now saying that he is “all-in with the Pelicans”
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–nba-free-agent-buzz–tony-allen-draws-interest-from-grizzlies–pacers–bucks–knicks-234954522.html
“All-In” from Gordon don’t make noise from the national sports media than CPME’s “Im-In”.If healthy at least play 80% of games he would be driving force in NOLA.
Maybe now, all the bandwagon Laker and Heat “fans” living in Nola will start pulling for the Pelicans.
im confident that this roster is playoff worthy but its really hard to predict where we end up in the standings in the coming season. the west is stacked. pretty much the only two teams i can be sure that won’t make the playoffs out west are phoenix and sacramento. the rest you can almost make a case for. Michael McNamara who do you see the pelicans being a more superior squad than out west at this stage?
also is dorell wright still a realistic option for us at the 3? I’m not exactly sure how much money he’s worth on the market but i definitely like him more than brewer or copeland for the position. although brewer plays really well out in transition which would fit in with what seems to likely be a more up tempo pelicans squad, he doesn’t rebound the ball well and he’s not a good 3 point shooter.
Aussie Pels Fan Michael McNamara Only teams I see as clearly better: SA, OKC, LAC
Honestly, that is the list. Not saying we will finish 4th. Might not even make playoffs. But right now, those are the only teams I see as clearly superior from a talent perspective
Michael McNamara Aussie Pels Fan I’d throw in Memphis as well, at least for another year until Z-Bo wears out.
I hope that in 3 years, when the contracts for some of these guys are coming to an end, the Pelicans will have home-court advantage in a playoff series.
bobmurrell Michael McNamara Aussie Pels Fan We split the season series with them last year and had a far inferior team. Why I left them off.
Again, not saying we are better, but I dont think we are clearly, without question, worse
Is it possible that Dell and Monty see a starting lineup where Jason Smith and AD hold down the 4 and 5 with Anderson still coming off the bench? I’m still trying to work out how all of these moves are going to play out on the court, and I’m still a bit concerned about the hole at the center position. I know there are still moves that can be made, but I feel that most of the remaining money will be used on a SF because reports have already said we have expressed interest in fairly cheap guys like Wright and Copeland. If at all possible I’d like to see AD at the 4. I think his value there is so much higher on defense as long as you have someone who can hold down the 5, but I’m not sure we do at this point.
Byron Mullens come on down as the new center
Can your next post please be about what lineup the Pelicans will use next year?
The way I see it:
1 Holiday Jackson
2 Gordon Evans Rivers
3
4 Davis Anderson Smith
5
That is five good players spread out over three positions. Can Evans play the 3? Can Smith start at center? I can see a limit on Gordons minutes where for a good chunk of the game Evans plays the 2 and Anderson the 3.
Benson Boogie You’re still pigeon-holing into specific slots. You have to remember the NBA isn’t about who’s at the 1,2,3,4,5, but how many minutes players get on the floor. Think about last year, when Robin Lopez, the “starting” center, was still getting less minutes than Ryan Anderson or Anthony Davis, even though both are playing “power forward”.
Jason Smith will primary play the traditional 5, but based on how the team played towards the end of last year, Davis and Ryno will play around 10-15min together on the floor at the 4/5, and Davis will probably play an additional 5-10min with another big man. So that leaves around 15-25min for a big without either of those two (Jason Smith will fill around 10-15min of that). So when the writers here talk about getting a stop-gap center, that’s someone who will play 8-12min on the floor.
Now i finally have to save my money and watch the Pelicans when they come to play in California!
While I don’t like losing Lopez and Vasquez, our minutes leaders from last year, I accept that it was a necessary cost to finalize the Evans deal (and to allow the trade to be done without using the cap space currently available). I have come to grips with the fact that we will not find two as productive players in the FA market with that cap space. My hope is we pick up one, longer term, inexpensive piece this summer.
Looking at the bigger picture, I think our cap space to find a FA or two, hopefully at SF and C, is more like $5.5M-$6.4M. NBA teams are required to have a roster of 13 and the league has to average a roster of 14. So I don’t see getting rid of more that one of Terrel Harris, Darius Miller, Brian Roberts, and Lance Thomas. And, while we might be able to sign three of them into the Room MLE, we still need to sign other players including, until I hear otherwise, our 2nd round pick Pierre Jackson. [I am assuming we keep Darius Miller, Brian Roberts, Lance Thomas, Pierre Jackson, and Lou Admunson because we need so many under $1m/year guys to balance out the approximately $42M going to four players (Gordon, Evans, Holiday, and Anderson) this year. I am also assuming we sign three of them with the Room MLE, and save any salary exemption created cap space for 10 day contracts during the season. Remember, that is how we got Admunson in the 2012-13 season.]
To me the big question for Dell is who is available for what at C. I feel like our choice at SF will come down to Brewer, Wright or Aminu, and dollars. If Brewer and Wright get priced to near $5M, then I think we take Aminu for around $2M/year for three years and work with him. (He could still be the answer at SF.) Because Wright is a better 3 pt shooter, I would love to get Wright for $3M/year for three years, but I am not sure that is realistic. I might even sign Wright and Aminu for around $5M total per year, spend $1M on a patch of a big for one year, and address the C position later.
I agree we compete for a playoff spot in 2013-14. (Drafting around 15th in 2014 would make the Holiday trade even better from our point of view!)
[I am reserving comment on whether the Pelicans eventually trade Gordon as the other shoe to drop as part of this trade. $42M in four, merely near all stars, is a lot for any franchise. Gordon’s $15M is the most likely one to go. The rest are good contracts at this viewing.]
504ever I am expecting a SF like the one you mentioned and a stop gap center for this year. Remember, we will have full MLE next year and that still wont put us into lux tax. Grab our good 4th big then. It’s a process. Won’t get every piece this summer, but man, the talent difference between where we are right now and 25 months ago is enormous.
504everGordon’s $15M is the most likely one to go.
But where? Who wants a $15M diva who only plays 15% of the time?
RonJohn63 504ever
Maybe someone wants him now, and maybe during this season he becomes desirable because he establishes he is healthy and playing at a high level. The who wants him and what do we have to take back are issues Dell will have to deal with.
The more I think about what Dell is doing – and admittedly, we are in the dark as to his long-term personnel plans – the more I believe that his opinion is that a player such as Evans at 11m a year is eminently preferable to a retread SF at 5m a year. In other words, the difference between a player of Evans’ talent and the majority of NBA SGs is MORE remarkable than the difference between a player of Brewer’s talent and the majority of NBA SFs. When presented with that choice, even if the players play different positions and with different skill sets, it is incredibly inefficient to purchase the lesser player at an inflated wage due to either limited supply or exaggerated demand (or both). He isn’t filling holes. He is acquiring a roster of impact players, regardless of where they play. IF they can play, they will.
andregurov
Well put. I agree. Also, we shouldn’t forget that this is still a rebuilding process. You could hardly expect Demps to put together all of the pieces for a championship contender in two seasons. As I look at this team now, I see two pieces that are clearly part of the future: Davis and Holliday. Gordon, Evans, and Anderson could all potentially be moved down the road for better and more appropriate players as we see how the team gels.
Jason: love your article, as always. I’m especially appreciative of your work on the numbers. With that being said, assuming the Evans deal goes down as a sign-and-trade involving Vasquez and Lopez, is there any scenario that we could then work a sign-and-trade with Denver for Iguodala involving Gordon? Or is that wishful thinking in light of others on their squad?
prpcpa1 It is doable. I think it is not likely this Summer, but what do I know? These things are often quite hard to predict. The Cap, however, is no obstacle to what you propose, at least with current salaries.
Jason Calmes prpcpa1 I guess what I’m really asking is if that is something that both teams would consider or is it just something to mollify the Gordon-haters in N.O. (which I am not one)?
prpcpa1 Jason Calmes My educated guess is that Gordon is here for opening tip.
Jason Calmes prpcpa1 Unless he injures himself again.
Am I “hating” the trough by calling the trough a trough? (The actual quote from which “call a spade a spade” was mistranslated.)
The new rumor is that the sign-and-trade has Lopez going to Portland and Vazquez to Sac. Any ideas who Portland is sending out? Think we could end up with another player or pick?
Victor Claver could be the player the Pels will get back would be a decent 2nd SF but i wish it’s Myers Leonard or the draft rights of Jeff Withney.
bigindian
This makes no sense. The Portland roster is full of quality guards, Claver stinks so I doubt we get him back, and there is no salary match with any of their signed players that we might want.
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/por/portland-trail-blazers
bigindian
Lopez goes to Portland, so scratch the guards comment above.
http://cowbellkingdom.com/2013/07/04/sacramento-kings-wont-match-new-orleans-pelicans-offer-for-tyreke-evans/ More confirmation
Great work on the article and good call on the sign and trade! I hope we get Meyer Leonard as well or their pick from this year in Whitney. When do our jerseys drop, I need to grab 1!!
I hope the Pels can get an big center who is good on the offensive an defensive end.
Looks like we are keeping Gordon, I’m okay with that.
Til the trading deadline.
From what I just read Gordon has to sign off on any trade we make involving him up until July 10th. After that all bets are off and he can be moved to whatever team gives Dell the st offer. He may not be in the fold after all.
I like this move, pretty unreservedly. I don’t know how Tyreke will play (as no one does) but this seems like a good idea now. Perhaps a slight overpay, but that is what gets you the RFA. Plus, an initial high bid scares off other suitors, which can keep the price down in the long run, as it forstalls any bidding war.
Very interesting roster, Pelicans will a very popular draw amongst basketball people!
Man this offseason is living up to the hype. It is very encouraging to see how much interest people seem to be taking in the team this offseason. Hopefully it translates to butts in the seats at the Arena.
Just from following this organization for so long, it is clear that while there are a ton of questions about what the lineup will be, who will start, who else will we pick up, etc, one thing is clear. Dell, with Monty’s input I am sure, has a plan. We all know each move could be just one part of a larger puzzle he is putting together. It is nice being able to trust your GM like that, confident he will make very savy, smart moves that wont hurt the team long term.
Now it is up to Monty to get this team together and start winning games. Last time Monty had any kind of talent on his team (Paul/West then not much else) we took a good Laker team to six games. The spotlight is on him now more than ever. I am confident he will show us he is truly one of the best coaches in the league.
On less important note but still a big deal, I am really itching to see our uniforms. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them debut the jerseys when the introduce Holiday and Evans. It would be a goo way to convey to them that they are a huge part of this organization moving into a new era by involving them in something like that.
Mates, let’s sign AK47 now and a stiff to hold down the fort at Center for a year.
Holiday, Gordon, AK47, AD23, Smith // Evans, Anderson, Rivers, backup C off bench
That’s a top 5 seed in the West with room to grow/improve.
And how exactly do you plan on getting AK to the Pelicans?
It is rumored that Brendan Haywood is being released by the Bobcats. He’s about 2M a year and more athletic than Lopez IMO. What do you think about him being a part of the Pelicans rebuild?
Greg Oden???
Could Matt Barnes be an option at the 3?
Im going to miss Grevis but boy am I glad soft boy Robin is gone we better have 70 pts in paint when we Portland. I wonder how much cash and what draft picks we receive from Portland.
AngryCookies I would imagine the cash and picks would go to the Kings.
PelicanCajun AngryCookiesExactly. If people would take the time to read the links that people post, they would see that every article says NOTHING comes back to the Pelicans from POR. But everyone keeps posting; ” I hope we get this guy. I wonder what picks we’re getting?” The one t hing we do get is we dont have to pay that $1.5M trade kicker in Lopez’ contract. Don’t think it affects the cap in any way, but it affects Mr. Benson’s pocket.
sign and trade gordon for iggy
starting 5:
holiday: pg
evans: sg
iggy:sf
davis/anderson:pf
?: center
Marc stein is reporting a 3 team deal
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9450752/tyreke-evans-headed-new-orleans-pelicans-three-team-trade-according-sources
Two HUGE needs remain: Rebounding and Outside Shooting
If you could only fill one this summer, which would you chose and why?
Michael McNamara If AFA is 2nd team: rebounding.
Michael McNamara Now I would go with rebounding. We have scorers all over the court so somebody has to rebound. I’m down with bringing AFA back, and hopefully signing D Wright and we still get a shooter as well. AFA will fit in perfectly, all he has 2 do now is play D, rebound, and run the floor. With all the ball handlers we have now he wont have to dribble much at all, he can just be a slasher.
Michael McNamara
Outside shooting! It’s harder to find and it helps space the floor for you entire offense. Just look at what it did for the Spurs in the Finals.
Marco The Italian Staliion Belinelli heading to San Antonio.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9450737/marco-belinelli-agrees-deal-san-antonio-spurs-according-sources
What wings/SFs are still on the market? Do we still have enough cap space (plus all the exceptions) to get someone better than AFA?
We don’t need to sign a new starting center, we already have a guy capable on the team. Jason Smith is a true 7-footer with the ability to score from inside and out. He’s improved his game every season, sets the hardest screens on the team, and is twice the player defensively Robin ever was. Not to mention his foot speed, he won’t get embarrassed on pick and rolls like Lopez did over and over again.
We need to sign a cheap center to back up Smith, not to start on this team. A lineup of Jrue, Gordon, Aminu, Davis and Smith will be able to get out and run, but not sacrifice solid defense to do so. You guys remember Jason Smith blocking KD’s dunk attempt with both hands? Or holding Griffin to 4 points?
Why isn’t JSmitty being discussed as the possible answer to our Center vacany?
beefense Because he’s our “energy” guy, who comes in and plays balls to the wall for 15 minutes a game. That kind of play with starters minutes results in season-ending injuries (which is what happened to him last year).
RonJohn63 beefense I’ve heard people bring this up before, but I don’t quite buy it. Kenneth Faried is Denver’s “energy guy”, a guy that plays all out and runs hard, yet he averaged about 28 minutes per game for them last season. I don’t see why Smith couldn’t play 20-25 minutes a game for this team
We also have the rights to Jeff Withey. Just saw it on BR
Clef504 I have not seen this anywhere, please share a link
Portland will send Jeff Withey to Pelicans as part of 3-team deal, league source tells Y!
From Adrian Wojnarowski per twitter
So we also get Jeff Withey but I think we should get veteran big on a one year deal
AngryCookies I have not seen this anywhere, please share a link
http://www.rotoinfo.com/playerupdate/194542/Jeff-Withey-C/
It’s also all over twitter
AngryCookies That would be great, but we should also have a bit of left over cap space in case someone gets injured and we need to sign a veteran in mid-season.
Withey!!!!!!!
I am in love.
In Final Four two years ago, he covered AD and Sulling. Held them to a combined 6-29.
AD averaged 5.8 blocks per 40 minutes, leading the nation.
Withey? 5.7
Had him 17th on my big board this year.
Michael McNamara Please share a link on this story
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–tyreke-evans-headed-to-pelicans-in-three-team-deal-172134174.html
JefferyDuplessisMichael McNamara
http://hoopshype.com/rumors/tag/new_orleans_pelicans
And we sent out Terrel Harris to Portland, to help us with Withey’s salary. Does anyone know what Withey’s salary will be?
I like him, but I think it’s time to go with AD at Center. Our team is together, just need to build chemistry.
Holiday
Gordon
Evans
Anderson
Davis
I fell in love with him in last year’s tourney as well– made some big time athletic blocks! Block party will come to Nola after all…
Dell Demps GM of the year
Papa Pelican I agree. And he still is not done, I don’t think. I hope not. I am more ready for the NBA then the NFL and I am a die hard Saints’ fan since the day I was born. Now a die hard Pelicans’ fan as well.
Full trade
Pelicans Recieve Tyreke Evans, Jeff Withey, and future 2nd rd pick
Queens Recieve Grevis Vasquez, future 2nd rd pick, and cash
Jail Blazers Recieve Robin Lopez, Terrell Harris
Simply Wow! Dell Demps turned Vasquez (who could not get any minutes in Memphis 2 years ago) and Lopez (who was dumped by Suns) into Tyreke Evans (potential all-star caliber player) and Withey (bound to be almost as good as Lopez). Could you think of a better Buy Low – Sell High Scenario? Yes, Vasquez and Lopez performed well last year and they are very decent players but do you think they have starter quality on a championship(!) level team. Compare Vasquez with Parker, Westbrook, Rose etc. Compare Lopez to Howard, Duncan etc. And the answer is simply no. They could only be good players off the bench. Now, we potentially have a much better player off the bench in Evans and He could be a starter anytime. (Think about Ginobili!)
I think Dell Demps is an extremely talended GM. Vasquez and Lopez are players that can be replaced but they cannot be compared to Tyreke Evans. Kudos to Demps! Dealer Dell keeps rolling! 🙂 It is very exciting to be a Pelicans fan even just to experience every summer and be excited to wait for the next move! 🙂
I am very happy with Dell moves this off season adding so much talent to our roster. But all these make sense only if we trade Gordon for a legitimate starting SF who can play 30+ minutes for us.
We can t afford to pay three guards over 36m a year and at the same time having this huge black hole at SF ( I don t think Tyreke is the answer at 3 long term).
Something tells me that Dell has already a plan for that. Who is going to be ? Deng? Granger? someone else who nobody expects? We just have to wait and see!
This off season is very exiting one!!!
The Pels are making alot of moves and getting prepared in case Howard ends up in the SW divison.Lets hop he play with the Lakers or Warriors.