re: I'm not sure how this team improves via trade

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Huh? JV with Carter as his backup is not something you would entertain?

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Sure, if we still had Larry, or a similar type backup 5 that can defend in a similar way Larry can.

That's great to have if we are playing the Nuggets.
Against every other team in the West, how are we supposed to defend the high pick? we are just going to play drop coverage the entire game? Are we going to switch onto Steph Curry and Harden and let them eat us alive?

The reason Larry works so well is b/c he can switch onto other guys and still defend well enough, and also b/c he's able to hedge the pick a bit and recover to his man quicker.
JV and Carter aren't capable of playing any other coverage other than drop coverage, and neither one of them are Rudy Gobert or Walker Kessler.

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This is the root of the problem. Worrying about starting the clock on the repeater tax is ridiculous. If this current team doesn't make the 2nd round, the tax won't be an issue after they dump one or more of their high priced players.

There are probably 6 or 7 teams in a better position to win the 2024 NBA title. The Pelicans are one of the few teams that can legitimately enter the top 4 with small upgrades. This is the first time in a decade that they are in this position. If they remain below the apron, the tax payment would be less than what they paid Van Gundy to not coach the team. Refusing to pay the same amount to give the team their best opportunity to win would validate every negative statement ever made about the franchise ownership.

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I just dont see that. You need a top 10 player to be a real contender and the pelicans dont have anything close to that

haha welp that went about as expected. I know im in the minority but im someone who's been of the opinion that we couldve used a point guard at some point in the last 10 years. we could play Jose but i know Willie wont and he probably wouldnt hold up with starter minutes all year. Fan of Terrence Mann too. would solidify our 1-3 imo while obviously taking a hit with big depth. but our big rotations need work in the future anyway, hope to draft or trade for another. Don't like the fit with Nance as much as others i guess too, and i wouldn't count on him not getting hurt again. I'd like to commit to offense and ball movement. not a fan of willie ball

correct, he certainly isn't a GREAT facilitator, but at this stage of his career he's unselfish and on a cheap as dirt contract and has to be respected when on the move. I think our easy setups to Jonas would go way up, for instance, and we'd likely see an oop to Zion every once in a while. Between him and Jose we'd always have some energy and PG competence availaible, and idc which we start btw. Mann is a good slasher and finisher too. Our creation and connectivity would we so much better on simple plays imo with two more ball handlers who CAN finish. like Dyson can put it on the floor but we and they know it aint going anywhere. Same for Hawk rn.only glue guys that do a decent job is Herb and Murphy, and Murphy is primarily out of necessity, bc we should rather be setting him up, and he doesnt pass well out of those situations; he needs to be just a finisher in one way or another. And of course Zion and Ingram can just do all that work, but it makes it so hard on us to create and not see them triple teamed, and hard for them to play together, not have to stagger them etc. i think a trade like this would help with those issues

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Why on earth would we stop doing what got us to the playoffs in the first place. This board’s obsession with trying to minimize/replace JV is maddening - he’s a key component when this team dominates.

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I don’t disagree with you but I will say it depends on the matchup we get in the postseason. There could be a matchup we could heavily rely upon JV but there could be one where some team exploits JV on defense. That being said we should keep JV but find another shot blocking mobile big via trade if we can.

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There are things you can get away with night to night in the regular season that you can't do the same in the postseason.

Same reason why Jose is such a valuable regular season player who will likely lose minutes in the playoffs.


Teams will seek out and hunt for mismatches relentlessly in the playoffs, much more so than they'd do in the regular season.

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Agreed. However, we cannot account for every potential playoff matchup and must get through the regular season first. Our tight cap situation limits us.

I'm not convinced we need to make a trade. I'm ok with just taking data on how this group performs and adjusting in the offseason.

However, if they want to get ahead of the curve and bolster this unit's post-season potential, I could see an incremental move that projects (in theory at least)to make the Pels better.

Pels Trade
-Larry Nance
-Kira Lewis
-One of the 1st rounders

Wizards Trade
-Tyus Jones
-Mike Muscala

This essentially is a move to get Jones, a top-level back up PG who could start or close really, for Nance and a first round pick. Kira is a salary dump who could rebuild his career in D.C. Muscala is an OK back up big who can give you some size and shooting off the bench.

Wizards get a first rounder plus active big who can help the culture and a former lottery pick PG prospect who needs a change of scenery. Jones isn't helping them go anywhere as things stand. That Lakers pick might be enough to do the deal, though if we give them that I'd want to make sure Jones isn't a one-year rental.

An alternative is to swap Val for Larry in this trade, but I think you only do that if you don't think you can sign Val to an extension. You could also upsell this deal to try and include Gafford with Jones. But that's a much bigger trade to work.