Trade Down

by Ryan Schwan

Let’s be honest. Are you even 60% sure that Buddy Hield, Dragan Bender or Jamal Murray are going to produce more in the NBA than say, Deyonta Davis and Wade Baldwin combined? Or Dejounte Murray and Domantas Sabonis together?  I’m not.  So why not entertain the prospect of trading down and getting two of those guys?

While there aren’t a lot of teams out there with multiple mid-round picks, it would be easy to have conditional deals in place with the teams that do – Boston or Denver.  Something like “I’m taking Bender at 6. If these two guys are available when you pick, you can have him for them.”

Especially if the guys you really want at 6 are gone. And especially when you consider the number of holes on the roster. Guys taken in the middle of this draft are going to be making, combined, about 3% of your cap for the next four years. Three percent. You get even one solid contributor at that price, and suddenly your team building becomes a lot easier. And remember, the Draft is a crapshoot. If you aren’t sure of the guy you will get at 6, doesn’t it make sense to use the shotgun approach and grab two guys?  Especially when some of the players in the middle of the round have a lot going for them. Sabonis posted a 28.66 PER as a sophmore at Gonzaga and is a natural passer. Deyonta Davis is only 19 and already 6’11”, 237 lbs, tested as one of the best athletes at the combine, and was the anchor of a very good defense up at MSU. Jakob Poeltl was a top 5 pick a month ago and is slipping solely because he’s a center and not stretchy. Furkan Korkmaz is a skilled shooter with an amazing name that would lend itself to all kinds of furkan comedy.

Now, I see you frowning. Trading down from one questionable prospects to even more questionable prospects may not be your cup of tea, right? Well, here’s the other reason to trade down.

Getting rid of Asik.

Right. This scenario is even easier to imagine. You don’t need a partner with two draft picks available. You just need one draft pick, further down the draft, owned by a team that is willing to take on Asik’s contract to move up and grab someone they fall in love with.  Just one team that doesn’t have cap issues (lots of those right now) in heat for a prospect, and you have yourself a mid-round guy and 12 million more in cap room for the next two seasons.

Enticing, isn’t it?

Either way – going for additional assets, or shedding bad ones, trading down seems pretty attractive all of a sudden, doesn’t it?

Vote for Trade down!

Jaylen Brown

by Norman Stansfield

Blue Chip Talent. THAT is what the Pelicans need to be trying to get right now. Guys with high cielings and all the physical tools in the world. Guys who can be that second banana to Davis. Cap space limitations are fun to talk about, but that only matters when you are talking about making room to sign supporting guys, because, lets face it, superstars aren’t picking New Orleans right now as a destination.

So if you want to dwell on missing cap space, fine, but you aren’t focusing on what you need to focus on:

Getting a superstar. Swinging for the fences.

Do you know who was right after Brandon Ingram in the ESPN High School recruiting database? Jaylen Brown. Do you know who stands 6’7″ and is the best projected wing in the draft not named Brandon Ingram? Jaylen Brown.

Do you know what the Pelicans biggest position of need is? A wing. They haven’t had a decent athletic wing in years. YEARS. Can you imagine Jrue and AD with a guy who can actually slash and score?

Sure, Brown struggled playing alongside a really poor supporting cast at Cal, but it’s not like his team missed the NCAA tournament or anything. This a guy who could finally give the Pelicans their Paul George. Their James Harden. Their Kawhi Leonard. Why on earth would you trade down for a truly questionable prospect – or to clear up space that you don’t need right now? You don’t, you go for the guy with the highest cieling, no matter the floor.

You pick Jaylen Brown.

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