New Orleans Pelicans Receive: F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Dallas Mavericks Receive: C Jonas Valanciunas, G Tomas Satoransky, C Jaxson Hayes, NOP 2022 2nd Round Pick, CLE 2022 2nd Round Pick (via NOP)
The New Orleans Pelicans recently acquired Jonas Valanciunas and Tomas Satoransky this offseason via trade, so Valanciunas cannot be moved until after October 6 and Satoransky cannot be moved until after October 7, but these are not the only complicated parts of this trade.
As a result of acquiring Devonte’ Graham via sign-and-trade this offseason, New Orleans is now hardcapped and cannot exceed the $143M tax apron for the season.
This trade would result in the Pelicans crossing this $143M threshold, so they would have to find a way to remove an extra $3.5M from their roster if they were to acquire Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks. The financial implications of this trade can be very confusing, which is definitely a “yellow flag” for the Pelicans to consider for starters.
Seeing as they just brought in both Valanciunas and Satoransky, it seems very unlikely that New orleans would look to move on from both of them before the start of the 2021-22 season, but Kristaps Porzingis is definitely still a valuable asset, even though he has struggled at times in Dallas.
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Porzingis can score in the paint, create second-chance scoring opportunities and can shoot from the outside, making him an all-around offensive threat for the Pelicans. This team ranked inside the Top-10 in scoring last season and if they bring in the Latvian big man, they would only be helping their case in terms of adding more scoring production on offense.
The Mavericks do get a really solid amount of value as well in this trade, as Jonas Valanciunas, Tomas Satoransky and Jaxson Hayes can all play and contribute during the 2021-22 season.
Valanciunas was instrumental in helping the Grizzlies claim the 8-seed in the Western Conference last season and he could once again proved to be a valuable rebounding asset for a team like the Mavericks, who are looking to contend for a Top-4 seed in the west this year.
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Moving Porzingis is something Dallas has discussed this offseason and while they did not push to get a deal done, this does not necessarily mean they are keen on the idea of keeping him long-term.
The Mavs may wait to see how he plays the first month of the season, but Kristaps Porzingis’ future with Dallas is still very much “up-in-the-air” and he could realistically be moved before the trade deadline this year.
