It was a week ago. The Pelicans set the tone for free agency by acquiring Dejounte Murray from Atlanta. In exchange, the New Orleans franchise gave up Larry Nance Jr, EJ Liddell, Dyson Daniels and two first-round draft picks! A few hours later, the Pelicans let Jonas Valanciunas join the Wizards, and since then it's been dead calm.
Free agency has been going on for a week now, and the Pelicans haven't signed a single player! According to Hoopshypethe priority is to find Jonas Valanciunas' replacement, and it's not easy. The management has one player in their sights: Wendell Carter Jr, the Magic's pivot. Since he is under contract, his arrival can only happen as part of a trade, and that's obviously very complicated. Especially after getting rid of many players.
A pivot to recover in the Brandon Ingram trade?
Another, much more accessible, track is that which leads to Daniel Theis, Ivica Zubac's understudy at the Clippers in the second half of the season. He is not at all the same caliber as Jonas Valanciunas, but he is not very expensive. Here are the other pivots still available on the market, and it is not really exceptional: Precious Achiuwa, Tristan Thompson, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Boban Marjanovic, Javale McGee, Harry Giles, Cody Zeller, Damian Jones, Mike Muscala…
Maybe the solution lies in the possible Brandon Ingram trade. The Kings track has been mentioned, where there is no decent center to recover, but maybe in a triangle trade, the Pelicans will find the rare bird. Why not Walker Kessler on the Jazz side… or Wendell Carter Jr.
