re: Official Pelicans Free Agency Thread(Updated with transactions)

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When you add in the new rule that there are 2 front court players rather than a PF & C, and the chances of Davis starting get a lot more likely.

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I have a feeling Davis will start 2 ASG and will make 2 All-NBA teams before his extension kicks in.

SI gives offseason grades to the Southwest. Mahoney was one of the guys who liked the moves last year, not as much on board this summer.

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Best move: Acquired Omer Asik to play alongside Anthony Davis.
Worst move: Surrendered a first-round pick for Asik protected so that it will likely convey at No. 19 or better.

Analysis: The biggest move of New Orleans' offseason was both well intended and poorly executed. Pairing Davis with Asik makes a great deal of sense, particularly as a remedy for what was the sixth-worst defense in the NBA last season. Asik is so tremendous in terms of walling off ball handlers from the rim as to make a very real and quite significant difference in that regard -- both for his work alongside Davis and without him. The problem, though, is that in dealing with a Rockets team lacking in any real leverage, the Pelicans nonetheless surrendered a quality draft pick. The protection on the outgoing first-round pick bears what has become a Houston trademark: Double protection, ensuring that it falls neither in the top three nor the bottom 10. As a result, the Pelicans will very likely surrender a pick somewhere between No. 4 and No. 19 in this deal -- a concession to a Houston team that was under the gun in needing to dump Asik's contract.

Perhaps there were other callers on the line for Asik's services, or maybe New Orleans sees Asik as such a unique complement to Davis that he's worth giving up such an asset. Still, the way this trade contrasts with the Rockets' subsequent salary dump of Jeremy Lin (in which Houston gave up its own unprotected first rounder to the Lakers in exchange for taking Lin's salary) doesn't reflect particularly well on New Orleans' rate of exchange. Quality acquisition, questionable move.

There was also a bit of weirdness in the Pelicans' small forward shuffle, which on its face conveys a preference for John Salmons (who was signed for the veteran minimum) over Omri Casspi (who was waived after acquisition from the Rockets). I can't say I follow the basketball calculus that would put Salmons over Casspi, but that swap doesn't register enough import to warrant much of a fuss. The rest of the Pelicans' offseason was similarly muted in impact. Anthony Morrow and Al-Farouq Aminu depart without clean replacement, but neither was so essential as to make their exits all that painful. Gone is Brian Roberts, though No. 47 overall pick Russ Smith could be an interesting candidate for replacement. New Orleans rolls on, and should Davis maintain or improve upon his play of last season for a Pelicans team with better injury luck, this could be a surprise entrant into the Western Conference playoff race.

Grade: C+

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The Asik critique is fair to me. And not the worst grade in the division either.

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