{"id":112645,"date":"2024-12-17T05:50:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T10:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=112645"},"modified":"2024-12-17T05:51:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T10:51:13","slug":"kings-trade-solve-pelicans-personnel-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/17\/kings-trade-solve-pelicans-personnel-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Kings Can Solve Pelicans\u2019 Roster Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

After completing a splash offseason trade for star guard Dejounte Murray<\/a>, the New Orleans Pelicans are failing to live up to either internal or external expectations. Their backslide could be chalked up to injuries, as they\u2019ve had several early in the season, including one to Murray. Nonetheless, time is running out for them to use their misfortunes as an excuse.<\/p>\n

Sooner or later, they might just have to decide whether to make another major roster move<\/a>. Perhaps that involves re-routing Murray, whose shot-selection and ball control have been inexcusable at times. However, none of the veterans in the Pelicans core \u2014be it Brandon Ingram<\/a>, CJ McCollum<\/a>, or Zion Williamson<\/a> \u2014appear to be safe either. Multiple franchises will have interest in at least one of their stars though, as they\u2019re all among the most popular and talented players in the NBA.<\/p>\n

With that being said, the Sacramento Kings are among the teams that have exactly what the Pelicans need.<\/p>\n

Kings Can Solve Pelicans\u2019 Roster Problem<\/h2>\n

In their efforts to enhance their personnel, the first step of the process is securing a trade for Kings wing Keon Ellis.<\/p>\n

A lockdown perimeter defender, Ellis is an excellent replacement for Ingram in the starting lineup, as Ingram\u2019s inconsistency at that end has long been a thorn in the Pelicans\u2019 side. In fact, the straightjacket he puts on his opponents is a boon for New Orleans even without factoring Ingram into the equation. The Pelicans are among one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, ranking 24th in opponent\u2019s points per game (116.6) and 28th in defensive rating (118.5).<\/p>\n

Murray, Herb Jones<\/a>, and Jose Alvarado<\/a> clearly spearhead their defense<\/a>. However, there\u2019s more than enough room for Ellis in the bayou. Especially as trading for Ellis, a career 42.2 percent three-point shooter, will require the Pelicans to move Ingram.<\/p>\n

Brandon Ingram\u2019s Value<\/h3>\n

The idea that an All-Star would be traded for a player that was on a two-way contract last season is probably difficult to fathom. Ingram is undoubtedly more skilled, seasoned, and productive than Ellis offensively. That\u2019s exactly what Sacramento needs to focus on in order to move a player who\u2019s arguably their best defender though.<\/p>\n

However, Ingram is making $36 million this season, so the Kings will need to add in additional salary. That\u2019ll lead to them moving Kevin Huerter<\/a> and Trey Lyles<\/a>, who have been on the trade block<\/a> for months. Making a combined $24.8 million in 2024-25, Huerter and Lyles\u2019s salaries still don\u2019t cover the difference as Ellis is making just $2.1 million this season. Thus, the Kings will need to add in minimum-salary filler contracts.<\/p>\n

More on that later.<\/p>\n

In a vacuum, moving the trio of Ellis, Huerter, and Lyles for Ingram seems like a steal. So much so that the Pelicans may even get a first round pick out of it.<\/p>\n

Moving CJ McCollum<\/h3>\n

The second part of the Pelicans\u2019 enhancement process is trading McCollum.<\/p>\n

2024 No. 21 pick Yves Missi<\/a> has been one of the better rookies. Still, New Orleans would benefit from a floor-spacing center that clears space for players like Murray. Of course, athletic stretch-fives don\u2019t come a dime a dozen. Nonetheless, the Utah Jazz have made one \u2014 2017 No. 19 pick John Collins<\/a> \u2014available on the trade market.<\/p>\n

Because Collins can toggle between power forward and center, he could also start in place of Williamson while they await his return<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Collin Sexton\u2019s Charge<\/h4>\n

The salary aspect of this could get complicated, as McCollum makes $33.3 million this season and Collins makes $26.5 million.<\/p>\n

However, acquiring McCollum would all but force Utah to move one of their current guards anyways. As the black sheep in their backcourt, Collin Sexton<\/a> is the more feasible option. Whether Sexton were to start alongside Murray or come off the bench, he\u2019d be an upgrade over McCollum defensively. He\u2019s also been highly efficient from beyond the arc, which McCollum has struggled with this season.<\/p>\n

Because the Jazz would be giving up two starting-caliber players for one, New Orleans should be willing to trade a first or second round pick.<\/p>\n

Three-Team Trade Parameters<\/h3>\n

In the effort to make salaries match, the Pelicans could agree to a three-team trade with the Kings and Jazz. If so, the trade parameters would look like this:<\/p>\n

Kings receive \u2014 Brandon Ingram\r\n\r\nJazz receive \u2014 CJ McCollum, Trey Lyles, Colby Jones, Future Draft Pick (via NOP)\r\n\r\nPelicans receive \u2014 John Collins, Collin Sexton, Keon Ellis, Kevin Huerter, Jordan McLaughlin, Orlando Robinson, Future Draft Pick (via SAC)<\/pre>\n
Though they could be kept for depth, Jordan McLaughlin<\/a> and Orlando Robinson<\/a> are just as likely to be waived following the trade\u2019s completion. One of the Pelicans\u2019 current end-of-bench players has to be waived as well in order to create an open roster spot.<\/p>\n
Hypothetically, this leaves the Pelicans with the following rotation:<\/p>\n
Dejounte Murray, Jose Alvarado*\r\n\r\nCollin Sexton, Kevin Huerter*, Jordan Hawkins*, Javonte Green\r\n\r\nKeon Ellis, Herb Jones, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl\r\n\r\nZion Williamson*, Trey Murphy III, Karlo Matkovic*\r\n\r\nJohn Collins, Yves Missi, Daniel Theis\r\n\r\n--* player currently injured<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After completing a splash offseason trade for star guard Dejounte Murray, the New Orleans Pelicans are failing to live up to either internal or external expectations. Their backslide could be chalked up to injuries, as they\u2019ve had several early in the season, including one to Murray. Nonetheless, time is running out for them to use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":112667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1608,62,29,4721],"tags":[308,1934,1594,998,4624,4774],"class_list":["post-112645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pelicans","category-basketball","category-nba","category-kings","category-trade-rumors","tag-brandon-ingram","tag-cj-mccollum","tag-collin-sexton","tag-john-collins","tag-keon-ellis","tag-rumors"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112645"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112673,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112645\/revisions\/112673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}