This offseason has been a peculiar one for the New Orleans Pelicans. Their first big move of the offseason was a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies in which their goal seemed to be to clear as much cap space as possible. Could another deal could be on the horizon, possibly with the Dallas Mavericks for Kristaps Porzingis?
They sent a 2022 first-round pick via the Los Angeles Lakers to the Grizzlies, along with Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, for Jonas Valanciunas. The teams also swapped first and second-round picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, so it was a pretty steep price to pay for some cap flexibility. But, the move couldn’t be judged until we saw what was done with the cap space.
New Orleans was reportedly interested in acquiring Kyle Lowry, but he ended up going to the Miami Heat. Their restricted free agent, Lonzo Ball, signed an offer sheet with the Chicago Bulls. With the space to accommodate the four-year, $85 million deal he signed, the Pelicans did not match, instead, agreeing to a sign-and-trade.
Devonte’ Graham was later acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Charlotte Hornets to help shore up the point guard spot, but they traded a future first-round pick to get it done. While New Orleans isn’t hurt for future first-round picks from the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades, it was still poor asset management this offseason by the front office.
With reports swirling that Zion Williamson’s family does not want him in New Orleans any longer, these offseason transactions are unlikely to change those feelings. Desperate to make a move that could flip the script, David Griffin could look into acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Mavericks.
New Orleans was named as a brand-new landing spot for Porzingis by Bleacher Report. The Mavericks have found that there is minimal interest in Porzingis on the trade market. Part of that is because executives around the league view his contract, which he is owed $101.5 million over the next three seasons for, as an albatross.
It is hard to argue against that, especially with how he played during the 2021 postseason. Porzingis was nowhere close to being the star sidekick Dallas envisioned him being when they acquired him from the New York Knicks. Had it not been for Ben Simmons’ headline-grabbing struggles, a lot more attention would have been paid to Porzingis’ poor play.
Acquiring Porzigis would be risky for Griffin and the front office, but the potential reward is too massive to pass up. Pairing the perimeter-orientated Porzingis with the dominant interior game of Williamson is a match made in heaven. New Orleans needs as much 3-point shooting and spacing around Williamson as possible and Porzingis would provide plenty.
New Orleans wouldn’t need to surrender much in the deal, as this would likely be viewed as a salary dump for Dallas, giving them a chance to reallocate and reset their books.
Valanciunas and Tomas Satoransky are both on expiring deals, which would interest Dallas. They also both fill some needs that the team has. New Orleans could toss in a future first-round pick as well if that is what Dallas would want to facilitate a deal.
A trio of Zion Williamson, Kristaps Porzingis and Brandon Ingram would give teams fits as they are all three excellent scorers, but get their points in different enough ways that they shouldn’t step on each other’s toes too much. This deal could put the Pelicans back on the map.
