New Orleans Pelicans NBA Trade Deadline Rumor Mill

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Published: February 17, 2014

Thursday, February 20th, 2 PM

The 2014 NBA trade deadline comes and goes with no movement from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Update: Wednesday, February 19th, 10 PM

Ramona Shelburne reports that the Pelicans are one of three teams to be in negotiations with the Lakers for big man Jordan Hill. New Orleans could use their disabled player exception granted from the Ryan Anderson injury to take in Hill’s salary without sending anything else out. Late last night, she updated her stance, claiming that the Nets and Pelicans are the leaders in the pursuit of Hill.

Update: Tuesday, February 18th, 1 PM

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Pelicans may receive the “disabled player exception” for Ryan Anderson. You can read more about the exception on Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ, but in short, it would allow New Orleans to either A) Sign a player for no more than half of Ryan Anderson’s 2013-14 salary for the remainder of this season, or B) trade for a player who is in the final year of his contract and making no more than half of Ryan Anderson’s 2013-14 salary plus $100,000. If the 2013-14 non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,150,000) was less than this amount, then the Pelicans would be constrained to that value; however, half of Anderson’s salary ($4,154,250) is the lesser of the two.

Update: Tuesday, February 18th, 9 AM

Per Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the Pelicans have made Anthony Morrow available in exchange for “a draft pick.” While his standalone value would likely not be higher than a second round pick, he is shooting an incredible 48% from 3-point range this season, a skill that is often coveted. Morrow holds a player option for next season in the amount of $1.15 million.

Update: Monday, February 17th, 8:30 PM

Rivers and Pierre Jackson both on the way out?

The recent Yahoo Power Rankings have this juicy little nugget in it

Source said New Orleans could be trading guard Austin Rivers and the rights to hot-scoring D-League guard Pierre Jackson.

One way or another, this team has six guards that all like the ball in their hands and have a knack for scoring if you include Jackson. With Anthony Davis bound to get more shots as time goes on, and Ryan Anderson being such a deadly scorer as well, it just makes sense to move two of these guys between now and the beginning of next year. The only question is: Which two?

Update: Monday, February 17th, 2:25 PM

Pelicans Shopping Gordon, Willing to Add Salary

Sean Devaney reports that the Pelicans are looking to move Gordon, and would be willing to take on salary to do so. Also, reporting that they are looking for a big man. If true, a couple of deals that could make sense include:

Eric Gordon for Jarrett Jack and Anderson Varejao

Eric Gordon for Javale McGee and Wilson Chandler or Danilo Galinari

Those are two teams that have interest in Pierre Jackson as well, so perhaps he could be included as part of the deal.

Update: Monday, February 17th, 10:00 AM

Tom Haberstroh posted 5 trade ideas (not rumors, simply ideas) in today’s ESPN Per Diem, including one involving the Pelicans. Here is the trade on ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine (must be an ESPN insider to read his reasoning). His reasoning for the Knicks potentially being willing to exchange Chandler for Gordon consists of the regression of the 31 year old Chandler along with his public disagreement in regards to Mike Woodson’s defensive scheme.

Monday, February 17th, 8:00 AM

With the NBA trade deadline only 3 days away, we have officially reached the dreaded “speculation mode.” From now until 2 PM central time on Thursday, lots of ideas will be thrown around with varying degrees of legitimacy (though frequently skewed towards the improbable side). That being said, if a rumor comes from any source with merit, this is where you can find it.

Have a trade idea to propose? Post it on our Facebook Page. We’ll take those that we deem most realistic and analyze them in a separate post later this week (which we’ll also link to here), as well as cite you for the idea. We highly recommend using the NBA Trade Machine (and then write in any draft picks exchanged if necessary). Scroll to the bottom to see real-time updates of relevant trade rumors and other chatter.

In addition, numerous outlets have reported that the Pelicans are amongst the most active teams in trade discussions. Nearly everyone outside of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday has had their name floated out there over the last few months, with Eric Gordon, Pierre Jackson, and Austin Rivers being the most frequently mentioned names. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the players the Pelicans can move and who they could be looking for in return.

(Thanks to Michael McNamara for the below insight on the Pelicans’ movable parts)

Eric Gordon

Contract Status: $14.9 million in ’14-’15, Player option for $15.5 million in ’15-’16.

Why the Pelicans might trade him: (See Above). Honestly, with Gordon it is all about the salary. He is being paid like a franchise player, and he simply doesn’t play like one. When this team is fully healthy, he has too many redundant skills and when others are hurt, he isn’t able to take over games like a player with his salary should.

Why the Pelicans might keep him: Because they have to. In an ideal world, the Pelicans move Gordon for a small forward or center that can balance out this roster, but teams aren’t lining up to overpay a player who has had some attitude issues in the past. Contrary to what Dell Demps might say publicly, the Pelicans are trying to move him, but opposing GM’s have been hesitant to offer anything of value for Gordon since the Pelicans matched his max contract.

Interested Teams: Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, and Charlotte

Detroit, Cleveland, and Charlotte all have playoff aspirations and Gordon would give them upgrades at the shooting guard position. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has essentially clinched the worst record in the NBA and have several players who reportedly want to get out, leading to some trade rumors involving Gordon recently.

The dream trade would be Gordon for Greg Monroe and an expiring contract, followed closely by Eric Gordon for Ben Gordon and either a pick or a young player. More realistically, the Pelicans will have to take at least one questionable contract back to get Gordon off the books. Something like Caron Butler and Gary Neal could make sense for both teams.

Pierre Jackson

Contract Status: Unsigned. Usually, guys picked in his range get 3 year deals worth about 2.2 million, with a team having the option to make him a RFA in year 4.

Why the Pelicans might trade him: Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, Brian Roberts. Five guys who all tend to dominate the ball are sitting ahead of Pierre Jackson, and even if one or two of them is moved, there isn’t a huge need for Jackson’s skill set on the roster. Combine that with the fact that there is some heavy buzz around Jackson right now, and he could be moved this week.

Why the Pelicans might keep him: If there is one move that could really get fans excited about these last thirty games, it would be calling up Pierre Jackson to the big leagues. Short guys are always fan favorites, and he is a dynamic scorer who has the potential to make some jaw dropping plays. And if he isn’t called up this year, he could essentially be the Pelicans rookie next season or he might be able to be moved in the summer for more than he can get now if he finishes off his D-League season strong.

Interested Teams: Denver, Cleveland

Denver lost Nate Robinson for the year, a guy Pierre Jackson is often compared to, while Cleveland is always looking for explosive scorers to take some pressure off Kyrie Irving. Both teams have some extra draft picks and young wing players that could interest Dell Demps. Denver has a good relationship with Nuggets GM Tim Connolly, so that could help facilitate a trade as the deadline gets close.

Other Possible Exports

Austin Rivers – There have been reports that the Pelicans have a deal in place if they want to pull the trigger, along with word that Boston is still interested in Rivers. But Austin has been playing better as of late, and it doesn’t make much sense to move him while his value is so low.

Al-Farouq Aminu, Greg Stiemsma – Expiring contracts always have some value around the deadline, and these are the two biggest expiring’s on the books.

Brian Roberts – There are a few teams that are in need of a backup point guard as they make a playoff run. Andre Miller is a name that is getting a lot of buzz, but Roberts is a much cheaper option that teams will likely have to give up less for. A team like Washington could bite, for instance.

Other News and Notes

– The Pelicans cannot trade their 2015 first round pick, due to the fact that a team can not owe two consecutive picks.

– Al-Farouq Aminu is the one player on the team who can veto a trade.

– Luke Babbitt and Alexis Ajinca are not eligible to be traded.

– We will keep this thread updated with all the latest rumors throughout the week. In the meantime, feel free to use the NBA Trade Machine and leave some of your ideas below. Also, check out our latest NBA Trade Deadline podcast.

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