The New Orleans Pelicans have never been known to be big spenders in the NBA offseason, but this year, they really made some key moves to try and finally make it back to the playoffs.
This organization has not been to the postseason since 2018 and with both Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson now leading their young core, things may finally be changing in a good way for New Orleans.
In addition to their two young All-Stars, the Pelicans now also have a key big man who affects the game on both ends of the court in Jonas Valanciunas and they also have a really solid replacement for Lonzo Ball in the backcourt with Devonte’ Graham.
The Pelicans executed a sign-and-trade with Chicago involving Lonzo Ball, which also netted them Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a future second-round pick.
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Trajan Langdon and the Pelicans front-office did a terrific job of turning Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, and Steven Adams into Jonas Valanciunas, Devonte’ Graham, Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and two rookies in Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones.
All of a sudden, the Pelicans have depth and they have experience on their roster, making them a real threat to earn a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Everything To Know About Latest Ben Simmons NBA Trade Rumors
However, the Pelicans do still have two key trade exceptions that they could look to use early on in the season or ahead of the 2021-22 NBA Trade Deadline. They have a $3.9M TPE from trading Nicolo Melli to the Mavericks last season and New Orleans also has one of the largest TPE’s in the league of $17M after trading Steven Adams to the Grizzlies this offseason.
Both of these exceptions could be in play for the New Orleans Pelicans should they look to add more talent to their roster early on in the year, so let’s take a look at three potential trade targets for them using these trade exceptions.
