Last summer, the New Orleans Pelicans paid Eric Gordon a ton of money to stay in town and drafted Anthony Davis with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. Their makeover continued when they acquired Jrue Holiday on draft night and another dimension is added with the sign-and-trade acquisition of Tyreke Evans. The Pelicans are certainly being aggressive and building a terrific young core.
New Orleans Pelicans Acquire: G/F Tyreke Evans and C Jeff Withey
Sacramento Kings Acquire: PG Greivis Vasquez, two second round picks
Portland Trail Blazers Acquire: C Robin Lopez, SG Terrel Harris
Why this makes sense for Pelicans:
New Orleans is going all-in this summer with the acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and now Tyreke Evans via a sign-and-trade that earns Evans a four-year, $44 million payday. Part of me thinks there is no way Evans is deserving of $11 million per year since he has regressed since a spectacular rookie season. The other part of me remembers how high I was on Evans coming out of college and how a change of scenery combined with running alongside Holiday and Gordon seems like a great fit. New Orleans now has a solid young core to move forward with in Holiday, Gordon, Evans, Davis, Ryan Anderson, and Austin Rivers.
As for what the Pelicans gave up in the deal; Vasquez became expendable once Holiday was traded for on draft night. Losing Lopez now creates a need for a starting center. While Withey comes over in the deal, he has the makings of a career back-up and not a starter alongside Davis in the frontcourt.
Why this makes sense for Kings:
Once Sacramento knew it was parting ways with Evans, they turned to sign and trade options in hopes of getting something in return rather than losing him for nothing. The Kings certainly got something in return with Vasquez who had a breakout year this past season. He is the playmaking/creating point guard Sac-town has been lacking and will be an upgrade over Isaiah Thomas.
Why this makes sense for Blazers:
With J.J. Hickson a free agent and likely not returning to Portland, the Blazers needed a big body inside to complement LeMarcus Aldridge. He is a suitable replacement and only has one year of guaranteed money left on his contract so to ultimately give up three second round picks for him is a solid value.
Pelicans Grade: D
Kings Grade: A
Blazers Grade: B
OTHER NBA OFF-SEASON MOVES:
KNICKS MAKE RISKY TRADE FOR BARGNANI
BLAZERS GET ROBINSON FOR PICKS
7/1 FREE AGENT RECAP (PAUL, DUNLEAVY RE-SIGN)
SUNS LAND BLEDSOE IN 3-TEAM TRADE
T-WOLVES ADD SHOOTERS WITH MARTIN AND BUDINGER
7/2 FREE AGENT RECAP (WEST, SPLITTER, ALLEN)
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David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.