Pelicans Are Signaling an Aggressive Offseason (And That's Not a Good Thing)

After back-to-back seasons with fewer than 30 wins, the New Orleans Pelicans are desperately hoping to escape the bottom of the Western Conference next season. With the arrival of Jamahl Mosley as the new head coach, the Pelicans are trying to be significantly more competitive next season. With that objective in mind, the Pelicans are signaling an aggressive offseason where they may be buyers. This would be a major mistake.

The Pelicans top brass' desire to improve is understandable. Small market teams can't afford to be bad for too many years. There is a benefit to being competitive and chasing a postseason spot.

Yet, that can't come at the expense of building a sustainable winner.

Pelicans Can't Rush the Process With a Win-Now Trade for a Star

The reporting out of New Orleans suggests that the Pelicans will pursue stars in win-now moves. Jaylen Brown was the latest trade target to generate Pelicans buzz in the media.

Going after a player of Brown's caliber will cost the Pelicans. The trade package would be built around Trey Murphy plus draft capital. In fact, any star player New Orleans goes after will require them to part ways with Murphy and/or future first-round picks. It's not like the Pelicans have a ton of assets with trade value.

The Pelicans should entertain trading Murphy this summer, to be sure. However, they need to be sellers in this potential trade rather than buyers. The Pelicans must be in asset accumulation mode, so if they can turn Murphy into multiple first-round picks, it would set them up for future success. Losing him, in addition to draft capital, to bring in a 30-year-old veteran on a max contract, is short-sighted.

Would trading for Brown or another All-Star-level player significantly improve the Pelicans' outlook in the next couple of seasons? Of course.

Would it make them a title contender or even a team that can make some noise in the loaded Western Conference? Almost certainly not.

Giving up future assets just to become a Play-In team in the West for a few seasons would bring the Pelicans to the purgatory of mediocrity they were stuck in during the David Griffin era.

This isn't to say that the Pelicans shouldn't try to be competitive next season. Especially with the new lottery rules to prevent tanking, there is a benefit to winning games even if you are not going to make the playoffs. The Pelicans should try to trade for a starting center and acquire some shooting. Giving up an asset with trade value like Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey, or a protected first-round pick to do so would be understandable.

What would be organizational malpractice is giving up a significant part of their future for a win-now trade that doesn't move the needle enough in the long run. As exciting as the idea of trading for an All-Star is, Pelicans fans have to be very cautious about celebrating a move that could send them further into darkness in the future.

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