Trade Grades
Click here for link to Miami Heat Trade Grades
Pelicans get: PF Jarnell Stokes
Heat get: "Highly protected" draft pick, $$$
New Orleans has absolutely nothing to lose in this deal, as that pick will likely never reach Miami, so I guess this can only be a good thing. With C Omer Asik's disappointing season, the Pelicans could use an extra big body next to superstar PF/C Anthony Davis. Stokes has only appeared in 19 NBA games, all with Memphis, in which he averaged 3 points and 1.8 rebounds, and has spent most of his career in the D-League. But he's only 22, and "nothing to lose", right?
Grade: A-
Trade Grades
(Click here for a link to Philadelphia 76ers' Trade Grades)
76ers get: PG Ish Smith
Pelicans get: 2016 second-rounder via Denver, 2017 second-rounder
With star PG Jrue Holiday finally back to full health (we think), and a competent backup in PG Norris Cole, Smith and his relatively impressive play (9 points per game, 6 assists per game) became an expendable and valuable trade chip. And while these two likely-early second-round picks do possess some decent value, it wasn't what the Pelicans should have been shopping Smith for. Behind the oft-injured and sometimes inconsistent wing duo of SG Eric Gordon and SF/SG Tyreke Evans, New Orleans' top reserve was SF Alonzo Gee, who is averaging all of 4 points per game this season. The $80 million paid to centers Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca this summer looks even dumber now than it did at the time, with the two combining for 7.5 points, 8 rebounds, and just 1 block per game this season. Remember, this was in an effort to get superstar PF/C Anthony Davis to play more power forward, and the experiment has been a complete failure thus far. My point is that the Pelicans had holes up and down their roster, from wing to center, that needed to be addressed, and a second-rounder two years from now just isn't an ideal fix in any sense.
Grade: C+
Trade Grades
Pelicans get: PG Norris Cole, SF/PF Shawne Williams
Suns get: SF/SG Danny Granger, SF/SG John Salmons, C Justin Hamilton, Miami’s 2017 first-rounder (top 7 protected), Miami’s 2021 first-rounder
Heat get: PG/SG Goran Dragic, SG Zoran Dragic (Goran’s brother)
New Orleans was kind of just third-wheeling on this trade. They were one of those teams that clearly didn’t have to be involved in a larger trade, but that generally works out in those teams’ favor (just ask the 76ers). This was no different, as the Pelicans addressed their glaring hole at point guard in wake of star PG Jrue Holiday’s latest injury. Cole fills this hole, as although he hasn’t improved from last year, the 26 year old is still averaging 6.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1 steal per contest in 24.5 minutes. Williams has reportedly been waived by New Orleans, and Salmons produced next to nothing. That’s odd, because that’s exactly what the Pelicans gave up in order to acquire Cole’s services.
Grade: A
Click here for link to Miami Heat Trade Grades
Pelicans get: PF Jarnell Stokes
Heat get: "Highly protected" draft pick, $$$
New Orleans has absolutely nothing to lose in this deal, as that pick will likely never reach Miami, so I guess this can only be a good thing. With C Omer Asik's disappointing season, the Pelicans could use an extra big body next to superstar PF/C Anthony Davis. Stokes has only appeared in 19 NBA games, all with Memphis, in which he averaged 3 points and 1.8 rebounds, and has spent most of his career in the D-League. But he's only 22, and "nothing to lose", right?
Grade: A-
Trade Grades
(Click here for a link to Philadelphia 76ers' Trade Grades)
76ers get: PG Ish Smith
Pelicans get: 2016 second-rounder via Denver, 2017 second-rounder
With star PG Jrue Holiday finally back to full health (we think), and a competent backup in PG Norris Cole, Smith and his relatively impressive play (9 points per game, 6 assists per game) became an expendable and valuable trade chip. And while these two likely-early second-round picks do possess some decent value, it wasn't what the Pelicans should have been shopping Smith for. Behind the oft-injured and sometimes inconsistent wing duo of SG Eric Gordon and SF/SG Tyreke Evans, New Orleans' top reserve was SF Alonzo Gee, who is averaging all of 4 points per game this season. The $80 million paid to centers Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca this summer looks even dumber now than it did at the time, with the two combining for 7.5 points, 8 rebounds, and just 1 block per game this season. Remember, this was in an effort to get superstar PF/C Anthony Davis to play more power forward, and the experiment has been a complete failure thus far. My point is that the Pelicans had holes up and down their roster, from wing to center, that needed to be addressed, and a second-rounder two years from now just isn't an ideal fix in any sense.
Grade: C+
Trade Grades
Pelicans get: PG Norris Cole, SF/PF Shawne Williams
Suns get: SF/SG Danny Granger, SF/SG John Salmons, C Justin Hamilton, Miami’s 2017 first-rounder (top 7 protected), Miami’s 2021 first-rounder
Heat get: PG/SG Goran Dragic, SG Zoran Dragic (Goran’s brother)
New Orleans was kind of just third-wheeling on this trade. They were one of those teams that clearly didn’t have to be involved in a larger trade, but that generally works out in those teams’ favor (just ask the 76ers). This was no different, as the Pelicans addressed their glaring hole at point guard in wake of star PG Jrue Holiday’s latest injury. Cole fills this hole, as although he hasn’t improved from last year, the 26 year old is still averaging 6.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1 steal per contest in 24.5 minutes. Williams has reportedly been waived by New Orleans, and Salmons produced next to nothing. That’s odd, because that’s exactly what the Pelicans gave up in order to acquire Cole’s services.
Grade: A