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The NBA trade deadline is 10 days away, and multiple reports suggest the New Orleans Pelicans are expected to be active around the big day.
One of the reported swings the team took is at Memphis Grizzlies superstar guard Ja Morant.
The Pelicans offered guards Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray to the Grizzlies for Ja Morant and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson. The holdup to the deal was the Pelicans’ unwillingness to add draft picks to the equation. New Orleans believed a swap of players would be adequate to bring Morant to New Orleans.
Morant and Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson both grew up in South Carolina, played on the same AAU team and were the first two picks of the 2019 NBA Draft. In 20 games this season, Morant has averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game for the Grizzlies. He is currently out for at least three weeks with a UCL sprain in his left elbow.
Marc Stein, another veteran NBA insider, said he’s been told no talks between the Pelicans and Grizzlies have occurred regarding Morant.
“Despite persistent speculation to the contrary,” Stein said.
Regardless if it’s about Morant or not, the Pelicans are still expected to be active in the trade market, according to multiple reports including Stein’s Substack, where Jake Fischer recently wrote about other team’s interest in center Yves Missi.
New Orleans is currently 12-36, the third-worst record in the NBA. The team doesn’t have a first-round draft pick this year, and four players who get paid $25 million or more this season: Williamson, Poole, Murray and Trey Murphy III.
“Teams continue to call the Pelicans about several players, including Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey,” ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel reported. “Still no movement on this front, yet the belief around the league is that New Orleans will make at least a couple of roster changes.”
That “belief” was also reported by Robinson.
“With a record that has them scraping the bottom of the Western Conference … the ‘stay the course’ mantra has officially been retired,” Robinson reported. “The Pelicans aren’t just looking to ‘tweak’ the margins; they are looking to be ultra-aggressive.”
The Pelicans’ goals for the future are to get rid of underperforming contracts, re-acquire draft capital and add size to the lineup, according to Robinson.