Trading for Alperen Sengun or Nikola Vucevic could be the best move for New Orleans Pelicans

Trading for Alperen Sengun or Nikola Vucevic could be the best move for New Orleans Pelicans

the Houston Rockets won’t give alperin shenon a Max the Bulls are putting Nicola vich on the trade market I’ve got more potential trade targets that can get the Pelicans their starting center plus Eve Mei is not the next Jackson Hayes it’s a Wednesday episode of Locked on Pelicans let’s [Music] go you are locked on Pelicans your daily New Orleans pelican podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday welcome to another edition of locked on Pelicans the daily podcast covering your favorite team the New Orleans Pelicans in NBA part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day available wherever you get your podcast and available on YouTube I’m your host Pelicans Insider credential member of the media Jake Madison no Jake on Twitter here with y’all on this Wednesday more trade targets trying to find a starting center for the New Orleans Pelicans next season so we’re going to look at the Houston Rockets oper and shenon Jabari Smith Jr then we’re going to switch to the Chicago Bulls because I do think Nicola vuvi could be had at a pretty cheap price and I’ve got an interesting three team deal that also gives the Pelicans more flexibility in the future and then we’re going to talk about Pelicans rookie Eve Mei in the third segment so of course thank you for making lock on Pelicans your first listen today day and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well this episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on MBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply so let’s get into it with the trade Target one of the the biggest news stories I thought over the past couple of days was the Houston Rockets you know maybe not wanting to pay their starting center alurn shenon a full Max and on the surface this kind of surprises me because he is good and does a lot of things you want in a modern big man you know this is a guy who averaged 21.1 points per game last season 9.3 rebounds five assists 1.2 steals s blocks and was just good overall he also gets to the line a lot for where he is in his career 21 points on 15.6 shot attempts that’s really good efficiency he has taken the three in the past but is not a good three-point shooter but I think that’s something that he has that range and could develop in the future so let’s start with this why why would they not want to give him a Max and How likely is it that he gets traded because when I look at the Houston Rockets right now he’s probably not my number one trade Target because I don’t actually think that they’re going to look to move him they might not want to pay him the but they don’t have to trade him right now there’s a difference between him and say BR and Ingram at the moment where they each have one year left on the deal except shenu next season will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year so the Houston Rockets kind of retain pole position on retaining him and it’s not like he can just walk and go anywhere else is there a reason to give shenon the max right now or should they just wait a year and then you can pay it to him then I don’t really see any sort of issue with that sort of move you know make him earn it a little bit more maybe it makes him a little bit hungry to go out and play well and if he does then you give him a Max because he’s a restricted free agent and you can do that then so I don’t know if there’s really a big need for them to rush to make this move right now and maybe if you can sign him for a little bit less because he takes it all the better for you in this sort of scenario and that’s kind of what I see going on so just because they’re not going to sign him to a Max right now doesn’t mean that I think that they are going to deal him or looking to deal him anytime soon you know the knock on him I do think is his defense but I think when you watch him play and I watched a lot of film over him the past couple of days you see a guy that in the right defensive scheme is not a defensive liability at all and I do think New Orleans could play that sort of scheme where yeah just keep people out of the paint they’ve done a very good job of that the past couple of years shenon fits right in and we know that the Houston Rockets want to try and improve and when you look around the league you know them being able to go after a big name that’s drying up a little bit and isn’t necessarily going to be the easiest thing for them to do so it could be a deal where you know Brandon Ingram is a more advanced scorer than many players on their roster Fred Van vet probably isn’t going to be their long longterm maybe going after Brandon Ingram makes a lot of sense and you know not a straightup deal between Ingram and shenon but you can construct a trade where that seems to work but there’s another guy on their roster because I don’t think they’re going to trade shenu this off season another guy that I think could also be the right move and that’s maybe Jabari Smith Jr you know a guy who in that same draft as poo banero was going to go number one overall until banero ended up going number one overall Jabar Smith Jr Falls 2 three this is a power forward/center a guy with good size at 611 that can play either position played about a third of his minutes last season as the center for the Houston Rockets 13.7 points per game uh 8. one rebounds 1.6 assists 7 steals 8 blocks and he has shown the ability to shoot the three he has taken five attempts per game in his career so far which is just two seasons not hitting him at an exceptionally High rate but in his second year that number jumped up to 36.3% last season there is through the first two years of his career he’s trending in the right direction when it comes to the three-point shot and when you get into some of the numbers and things like that when when you look at you know Jabari Smith Jr and where he’s played playing Center has gone overall well I’m trying to pull up the numbers here so we can look at them you know him as their start not starting center but playing Center minutes for them overall was good the most used lineup with him as a center last year had a positive next rating of uh net rating of 6.4 the rebounding defensive rebounding which is kind of the big concern there wasn’t amazing but if you put him in a lineup with uh you know dejonte muray with Trey young you know I do think you can get by with the rebounding that you would have out there on the court he’s a Buy Low candidate but you know if you wanted the Houston Rockets try and upgrade their you know starting Wing Spot which I think is something they want to do you know figuring out a trade with Brandon Ingram for Jabari Smith Jr and other salary filler makes sense you could also maybe shed some salary if you’re the Pelicans in a deal like this so I would definitely be going after Jabari Smith Jr seeing if you could maybe pry him away I think it’s worth keeping in mind that for a long long time he was the presumed number one overall pick in that draft playing center next to Zion Williamson kind of moving him to that position something that he’s done throughout his career again about a third of his minutes last year where at Center that’s an increase from where he was the year before seems to make a lot of sense and he could be that kind of prototypical shooting spacing big man next to eye on Williamson that we have yet to see that’s a move that I think could be a sneaky smart one for the New Orleans Pelicans do you prefer Jabari Smith Jr do you prefer Alper and shenon let me know in the comments Down Below on YouTube but there’s another Target that I think is much more attainable than either of these guys and it could be a three- team deal that Nets the Pelican other flexible pieces too let’s look at that coming up here next in today’s episode of lock on Pelicans that involves the Bulls and Nicola vich here we’re going to talk about that coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by game time it’s the summer that means Major League Baseball maybe you’re traveling maybe you want to go check out one of the ballparks nothing better than sitting outside hot dog the nice weather watching a game it’s a lot of fun and game time is an official ticketing partner of Major League Baseball so if you’re traveling you want to go check it out best to do it through game time this is my go-to ticketing app and it’s not just for sporting events for concerts Theater comedy and more what I love about game time is they just make it easy they take the guesswork out of buying tickets you can see the view from your seats before you buy so you won’t be surprised when you get to the venue they also have the all in pricing up front no 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training camp which is like a week or two away it’s going to be here before you know it means the season is starting make sure locked on Saints part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day is your second listen today by the way become an every dayer of locked on Pelicans that means you listen Monday through Friday to the lockon Pelicans podcast and if you are an everyday let me know in the comments down below so there was another rumor that was kind of floating around the other day and this one makes a ton of sense that look the Chicago Bulls sound like they’re losing Demar D rozan for nothing he’s just going to walk and sign elsewhere maybe it’ll be a sign trade maybe not and the Pelicans don’t have an interest in Demar D rozan but that team is starting to fall apart they’ve been trying to tread water and just be a play in tournament team hasn’t really worked they need you know a definite reset there so a guy that I think very much could be on the move is going to be Nicola vvi and that makes a ton of sense this guy still has some legs in him a little bit older on the wrong side of 30 he’ll be 34 next season but as a big man that shoots the ball that can still give you quality production I think think he makes an absolute ton of sense for New Orleans you know this is his like ninth 10th season something like that in the NBA more than that maybe 18 points per game last year 10 and a half rebounds 3.3 assists s steals point8 blocks he did not shoot the three ball well last year but for his career he’s a 34% shooter from three on over two and a half attempts per game the year before last he was 35% his first year in Chicago he was 30 39% from three in Orlando he was a good three-point shooting big man 2o there is a lot of potential there for him to be that Court spacer next to Zion Williamson and he’s going to be attainable because the Bulls need to make some changes and his contract is perfect he’s in that same range of making money alongside Jared Allen $20 million next season 2.48 million the season after that that’s something that New Orleans can take on and maybe have him be a stop gap for a year two years while hopefully Eve Mei and more on him in the next segment develops into the guy that they need him to be and is ready to take on that starting job and then this money just comes off the books at around a Time the Pelicans would absolutely need that money to come off of the books so Chicago needing a reset and putting vich on the trade block is exactly the type of opportunity New Orleans should try and pounce on I think much more attainable than probably many of the other names that we’ve talked about outside of Wendell Carter Jr here as the Pelican starting center for next season so this is a guy that wouldn’t probably cost a lot and I do think you end up doing a deal that would be a three team trade and I think a deal with the Sacramento Kings makes a ton of sense here so here’s the trade that I propose and I think it could work out really well and everyone would be happy with this you send Brandon Ingram to the Sacramento Kings they are very interested in him but they don’t exactly have the pieces we’d want I talked about them on Monday’s show about why you could maybe do a deal for Harrison Barnes Kevin herder and two first round picks but what if you could just get a player back instead so it’s Brandon Ingram to the Sacramento Kings the Chicago Bulls receive Harrison Barnes and a future first round pick from the Sacramento Kings you’re probably not getting that much more for vuvi here so I think that makes sense and then the New Orleans Pelicans get Kevin herder and vich and a first round pick from the Chicago Bulls so the return is herder which is I think would be a rotation piece for New Orleans you know vvi as your starting center and then a future first round pick for you basically to package with herder for something else later down the line that acquires a starting center for the Pelicans and now gives you that future flexibility look they’re running into a little bit of trouble right now in terms of like money later on this season and what they’re going to be able to do so adding more built-in flexibility I think would be great you know if they make a trade with the Sacramento Kings just for Brandon Ingram and for Harrison Barnes and Kevin herder in two first round picks they’re going to just try and flip some of those pieces you may as well just do it now get a guy in the building and you can start kind of prepping and planning the rest of the regular season and the moves you want to make either in training camp or building up to the trade deadline replenishes a little bit of the draft Capital that you gave up in the trade for dejonte Murray who by the way there are pictures of him already wearing New Orleans Pelicans gear which I absolutely loved to see he seemed excited to be coming here that’s the type of attitude that’s going to get you loved in this city and by this fan base you did have a heartfelt note from Larry Nance Jr too which I thought was also really nice so you know all of a sudden your starting lineup would be something like dejonte Murray then CJ McCullum one of Trey Murphy or herb Jones Zion Williamson and then vuvi it’s a pretty good starting lineup you know uh Vu can then play however many minutes you need him to it provides a clear role for a guy like Eve Mei who we’re going to talk about in the next segment here and I think that helps with Player Development it gives you a different kind of big to bring in Off the Bench you could trade Kevin herder and a first round pick for some more front Court depth which I think could be a good thing or you just kind of keep him not as the Nai Marshall replacement but shooting on the wing you wouldn’t need to have a guy like Matt Ryan on the team you could cut him to save some salary or trade him for something else it opens up just like a ton of different possibilities I think for the New Orleans Pelicans and gives them more flexibility which is something they’re lacking a little bit of right now we don’t want to see a final roster I think going into next season where they just don’t have any ability to make other moves we have an idea of what this team will look like what their strengths are going to be what their weaknesses will are going to be but you’re bringing in and dramatically overhauling the roster which means there’s going to be some Growing Pains some weaknesses might present themselves later that you want to try and address having the flexibility to do that I think is a really important thing so I like this trade you know a starter starting center a depth piece and a first round pick in exchange for Brandon Ingram is the type of deal that I think really really works here you’d maybe like more coming back for Ingram but I think this is the type of deal looking at the market and knowing that that contract situation for Brandon Ingram is dragging down some of his value this is probably what you’re going to be looking at I tried to find a way you could maybe send Zack LaVine to the uh to the to the um Sacramento Kings and maybe Ingram to the Bulls but I don’t think that trade exactly works I think this is the type of three- team deal that would make an absolute ton of sense and something that wens is probably going to be on the phone about I don’t know if it’ll end up happening I do worry about vu’s age a little bit I don’t love the idea of trading brand Ingram for not a long-term piece and that’s not how I view vvi in this situation so there’s that when it comes to it but I do think the fit could be there he’s a good rebounder too like Beyond just the shooting he is a very good rebounder not as Elite as Jonas valis was but I don’t think he’s actually horribly far off he’s a little more lumbering than you would like so he’s not that mobile switchy Center you know hyper athletic center they want on the perimeter but there’s more shooting here and I think the fit just makes a little bit more sense does that mean it’s the right move probably not is this the type of guy that Willie Green would totally love like no he’s not a defensive anchor anything like that but I don’t think you’re necessarily going to find that unless you get a guy like Jared Allen or Miles Turner and there’s no reason to believe despite the fact that you know the Indiana Pacers just signed James wisman to be the third string Center that’s what you don’t want him to be the starting center for you that maybe it means Turner’s on the move I don’t know like I just don’t see Turner going anywhere because their their options for their starting center then are not great so I think this is maybe what you would be looking at if you’re the New Orleans Pelicans so coming up let’s let’s switch it up we’ve talked a lot of Trades the past couple of days let’s get back to the draft Eve Mei he’s not the next Jackson Hayes I get why people are saying that and I said the the Boomer bus potential is kind of there but from talking to people around him from around the Pelicans too A lot of my concerns with that got like eased away and I’ll explain why and it has something to do with a very good quality in Mei that probably isn’t talked about enough let’s break that down coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on pelicans and thank you for making lock on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well and become an every day that means you listen Monday through Friday to locked on Pelicans here and if you’re an everyday or let me know in the comments down below cuz I like truly appreciate y’all now for your second listen you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day long do you have to turn down the volume with all of that shouting make the switch to lock lock on sports today a free 24/7 Sports streaming channel programed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the yelling lockon sports today brings you can’t miss analysis news and opinions streaming 24/7 on YouTube with the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day so let’s switch gears and talk a little bit about the draft Eve Mei the Pelicans first round pick 21 overall you know wasn’t the guy that I would have drafted donon Holmes um was probably the guy that I would have gone after in that type of situation learning more about Kyle filipowski is like weird situation does worry me a little bit with that though I’m still surprised he dropped out of the first round but I think he would have made sense as a guy that could play right away for this team but the Pelicans went with with Eve Mei and you know beyond just the the athletic attributes you know and like I said you know other guys I liked better is what makes me concerned about this that Mei is a very very very raw Prospect effect you know he’s only picked up basketball recently you know coming over from Cameroon to to you know basically be a basketball player here one of the things though that I think when you look at these guys who kind of have the these rapid ascents like that is what’s their work ethic like and so I think that people look at Eve me and go okay he’s a hyper athletic big man that is very very raw and is going to take some time to develop reminds them of Jackson Hayes in that same draft with BR with with Zion Williamson and that understandably gives people a lot of concern and pause and I get it but I don’t think these two players are remotely alike at all and that gives me a lot of Hope for mei’s future here in New Orleans you know Jackson Hayes I think particularly from watching him in his four years here in New Orleans did he truly want to be an NBA player or did he like enjoy being an NBA player like is he a Hooper or is he a guy that just wanted the contract the fame the notoriety that came with being in the NBA and it feels more like the latter was he truly in love with the game or something like that and I think the answer is probably no Eve Mei isn’t like that at all one of the things that I’ve gathered from talking to everyone with him is a couple of things one he’s a hyper intelligent person not just a basketball player but overall just as a human is very very smart you know absorbs things quickly can process things quickly and can go out and kind of learn those and and put them into practice very quickly for a player who you need to develop that’s a very very very good quality and maybe one of the number one things you want to kind of have with them Mei definitely has that the other part is the work ethic right was Jackson a putting in the extra work or was he going to be taking Instagram pictures and posting them me is the type of player that is going to put in the work the work ethic is something that everyone has raved about when it comes to him that’s what you want in a rookie a guy that’s going to come in put in the work and then try and just get better from all of that that’s why I don’t think he’s anything like Jackson haes they also have different body types and are different types of players Jackson Hayes needed to put on more muscle you don’t necessarily see that from Mei he has an NBA ready body so I don’t view them the same I get why you know I and others might jump to that sort of conclusion or make that comparison but when you dive into it a little bit more that’s not going to be the case whatsoever I think the biggest thing for him is the Pelicans having a clear development plan for him knowing how to use him his rookie year making sure he does get some minutes and looking at the correct things to work on with him one of the things they tried to do was turn Jackson Hayes into a shooter not into a rim protector not into a rebounder but into a shooter and I get it but they often did that by just having him be in the short Corner trying to be that you know that corner three anchor and that’s not the right role for him if they’re doing something like that with Eve Mei they’re doing it wrong he should be a pick and roll lob threat for this team and so I hope they’re going to start working with him on how to set good screens how to roll well to the rim those sorts of things if you develop him properly something that look jackon has a lot of culpability the majority of it in the way his career has gone but the Pelicans have some blame in that too and so if you can come up with the right development plan for Eve Mei knowing that what his work ethic is how smart he is this is a guy that I think could absolutely flourish and maybe develop sooner rather than later for this team and provide more of an immediate impact you know you teach him how to defend teach him how to stay vertical which is my big concern with him defending without fouling down low if they can figure that out and plan for that he’s going to be a very strong defender in the NBA and will carve out a role for himself at the very least you add in the other things being a role man using him in the right way when he’s out there on the court that’s the biggest thing he’s going to be willing to do whatever you want him to do and I think he’ll pick up all of those things exceptionally quickly and that’s I think a big reason why the Pelicans drafted him I think they learned from a lot of their mistakes when it came to drafting Jackson Hayes and how they brought him along and what they did with him and how they used him that’s really encouraging I think for this team and what they want to do with Mei and why I’m really starting to kind of come around on this pick there were guys that could have contributed a little bit more right away as a rookie yes but now that you still have bran inam and you could trade him you don’t need Mei to to play minutes right away necessarily so you didn’t need to draft to Kyle filipowski or someone else like that who was maybe more NBA ready than Mei is if you think Mei has the tools to develop into something greater than those other players drafted after him and that’s where this Pick starts to make a ton more sense I think let me know what you think if you come around on the Eve Mei Pig do you like it do you not like it are you optimistic about how he’s going to play in the NBA this year and what his role would be because I really am and watching him more and hearing more about him he he’s not going to be Jackson Hayes at all I feel very confident in saying that that if for whatever reason his career doesn’t go how we would hope it would be it has nothing to do with the work ethic or something like that because I think that’s going to be through the roof with this guy and I’m excited that he’s on the pelan team bringing that energy here because sometimes they need some more of that let me know if you agree dis agree in the comments Down Below on YouTube so that’s going to do it for this episode of Locked on Pelicans as always I’m your host Jake Madison Nola Jake on Twitter and I’ll be back with y’all tomorrow maybe we’ll do a live show or something like that see yall then

The New Orleans Pelicans still don’t have a starting center but there are plenty of other names to be had in a Brandon Ingram trade. Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr from the Houston Rockets are good, young trade targets. Or the Pels could get Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls. Plus, Jake Madison explains why Yves Missi is not going to be like Jaxson Hayes.

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