New Orleans Pelicans’ home-run Dejounte Murray trade, solid draft, next moves | PODnas, Episode 13
hello welcome to pnas I’m Daniel Hawks that’s Jared Roser we are [Laughter] talking we are talking Pelicans uh today they just drafted two Stellar guys but more importantly pulled off a huge trade they bring it into jonty Murray from Atlanta um we’re gonna get in all that uh Jarrett how you doing what’s up I’m awesome man very excited about the last few days for the Pelicans and it’s been a little bit of a roller coaster for us behind the scenes where I feel like this show has this episode has kind of Taken shape and reshaped about three or four times as we went in wondering when some some action was going to happen and then came out of the draft no trade and now there’s a trade but bi is not involved and so a lot happening very rapidly for New Orleans basketball and it’s been fun and uh just so some of you know we did uh we recorded something and then the news just broke down so fast that uh we didn’t get it out in time so I’m going to cut to that right now first had the draft and free agency kind of as mixed topics but then I thought let’s put him in one because there’s going to be so much stuff happening and such a short amount of time for me is whether the pels are even selecting number 21 or selecting number 21 for themselves at that point because there’s so much talk of Atlanta trying to make a move here sooner than later and for me and this may be the kiss of death for Deon Mary I think Jon is just more likely you’re mentioning from Baylor EES Mei is ah there we go look at you I I think every mock draft I’ve seen is is now pegging and there a lot throughout the process has pointed him to New Orleans but it looks consensus today in terms of the final if for some reason they traded up to Draft Zack eedi I’m gonna literally like start a fire in my in my house and sit in it I really like where the pels are in terms of 21 or you know being a late teens early 20s pick there’s going to be a handful of guys that I wouldn’t be upset with that it and would be excited about if they get it 21 first things first uh we kers Shar D jonte Murr yeah like this this is the most excited I think I’ve been or can remember being about a New Orleans Pelicans trade and I’ve liked a lot of the movement Through The Years CJ McCullum was a great move for the team at that time I really like the the JV trade a few years back for both what they brought in and what they sent out they’ve they’ve had some nice deals where they bring back the cousins deal when ad was still there I loved that move I thought it was it didn’t work out the way we wanted but it showed flashes of potential before uh uh Demarcus uh cousins had that uh that bad leg entury um yeah but I love this and no bi yeah that that was kind of that was a piece of it too like there’s been some great trades there’s I definitely don’t recall there being another trade that I was as excited about the git and the cost being lower than what I anticipated it being and it being someone that we had been talking about for two months now wanting to be the guy for me and so the the Target that I hoped they would bring in this off season kind of took shape in a big way but a lot of those other trades like the Boogie trade felt a little bit more short term than dejonte who’s under contract on a great deal for the next three years and then a player option and to to swing that deal still have bi hate to see the guys go that go I really like Dyson Daniels as a as a long as a young Prospect love Larry Nance as a rotational guy and what he meant for that team from a culture standpoint and all those things the 2025 Lakers pick could be really good but ultimately you know a few days after we talked about on the you know our attempt at a preview episode the Knicks traded what felt like a decade worth of picks to go get male Bridges um to give away two picks one of them hopefully a low first round pick in 2027 for a guy that is going to be a key core member of this this team and a good two-way guy as well um for this team for years to come and still have the flexibility to now potentially move bi for another piece I don’t know that they could have asked for a much better trade Friday night I saw something from uh I’m pulling up right now it’s uh uh will Gilroy uh gillery gillery sorry yeah I’m bad with names man I’m bad with names uh does jonte Murray and Herb Jones uh have the most combined steals over the last three seasons uh with de jonte at 361 Herb At 338 and they’re now teammates like yeah I me and let’s just throw it out there that maybe bi doesn’t get traded and so now like that’s a out four you obviously got to figure out the five address it a little bit in the draft but you really can’t count on a rookie um is there someone else that you can bring in uh but yeah that’s a long dangerous team on the defensive side of the ball 100 perc I mean dejonte Murray’s a a 65 combo guard who handles the ball really well prior to getting traded to Atlanta was a nine assisted game guy in San Antonio when Trey young was out this season was a nine assist guy in Atlanta shot 30 I think 36 and a half% from three this past year on about twice the volume of what bi was shooting and so he’s he’s been on par as a a shooter in recent years with Trey young he’s improved both volume and percentage each of the last four years to where he’s now High 30% on seven attempts per game he can create a better assist to turn over more reliable efficient guy in that capacity than bi or CJ and so you add a lot to this team both both ways and and the roster right now you have dejon CJ bi Zion Trey Murphy herb Jones and so that six guys for your one through four is a super impressive rotation before you even get into liking what you have in some bench pieces like a Jose Alvarado and a uh and a Jordan Hawkins and some others you do for sure have to continue to address the five but they now with the swing of this deal and still having bi I think you give yourselves if you’re Griffin company an awful lot of Leverage a in those bi those bi conversations of hey you know we have now a lot of flexibility to move you do you really want to be here and be a part of this increasingly exciting core or do you want to potentially get shipped and make more in a Detroit or some place like that and so that conversation gets interesting you also now as you look at your options around the country you can be a little bit more patient in your swing for a veteran five if you want to make a deal and and say you know we were a a playin team that just added an All-Star caliber guard and feel pretty good about where we are we have some flexibility financially to keep bi if we want to so we’re not we’re not going to take a bad deal um what do you have to offer us and and be kind of patient and make sure you hit a deal for a big the same caliber of what you just hit with de jante in terms of a price point now all that’s great and we have seen you know teams come like this together before uh and sometimes they don’t work so what do we think that the ceiling is realistically for this pels team I think the team can be extremely good the the limitation for me is more a factor of how good the western conference is than it is being worried about the pells uh so Western Conference Finals do you think that this team has a final shot like and and saying that yes the West is really good and and wimy is not in the picture yet I and that’s you know we’re on a shrinking window for when that just starts to become a problem for everyone um the West was great this year and wem’s not not there yet Memphis was down this year but is expected to rebound and so it just gets Memphis had two best players just out the whole year J with the suspension and then immediately getting hurt which really sucked um and uh triple Jam was you know he was on and off the court all year and Desmond Bane was hurt all year too their third best player or not all year but for a majority of that year so that team’s gonna come back strong and I think they’re really gonna also hold on side note the happiest I was during the draft was when I knew that Zach Ed wasn’t gonna fall and go to the Pelicans hey be happy now because again we talked about it previously I during the pre-draft process warmed up a lot to Zach Ed and and from a fit standpoint him going to Memphis alongside jiren Jackson Jr I think is a really nice fit for him to go yeah um be alongside a tall versatile switchy and floor stretching uh four and to be with a guy like aarant that he can can run some pick and roll game with and stuff like that and so I think Zack Edy has a chance to be a little bit of a headache for the pels for years to come listen he can I wish him the best somewhere [Laughter] else go go do your thing dog just don’t do it on my on my team my my favorite team please and we’ll obviously you know you mentioned before we’re going to get a lot more into the draft on the tail end of this but to I mean to jump back to your question of how competitive can this pels team now be in a a really Stout Western Conference I think ultimately the answer is kind of an incomplete right now because we have to see what happens at the five uh there’s no there’s no way they’re going into this season with all these great one through four pieces and EES Mei as the guy I think he’ll be one of probably three or four notable rotation guys as as a big by the time we get there but the the move Friday and where this team is now positioned and I think in a position of strength with how they attack the rest of this offseason gives me a lot of optimism that they can be a noise maker in the western conference for the the upcoming years and be someone that you have to take seriously as a I mean potential homecourt team in the first round and and we’ll kind of see how the roster continues to develop in the the coming weeks well and also we’ve seen the Pelicans here before uh I mean last year even people high expectations and they were so five they were so 500 all year they’re so up and down and they go on streaks and you’d like this team could be a problem for anyone that they face and then they get swept in the first round yeah um and don’t look like you know the same team and it sucks with you know Z going out uh so early after his best career game uh realistically uh but I would hope that with this team and just right now that they could at least do something kind of like what Dallas did this year be really really good defensively and make a run to the Western Conference finals and you know some things fall your way and a Minnesota takes out Min Why does hold on why does min like like the pat Bev when they won the playin game and he like got up on the stands like why does Minnesota like always do like something like kind of okay like or or better from what they’re supposed to do and then like it’s like they blew their wad way too early yeah man I mean they’re just they’re you know I’m not gonna say consolation trophy Vibes or happy to be here Vibes but there’s been so little to be and we can kind of understand this from a New Orleans basketball perspective there’s been so little highlevel success for that franchise to be excited about that they’re they’re just all kinds of gung-ho every step of the way that that they do accomplish something um and and kind of go a little bit overboard with it but I also something you just said about the let down aspect of the pels this year and how much of the let down of the pels through the last five years or so has been tied to who gets hurt when something the pels fans are going to abs absolutely love and I almost just curse Jarred it because I’m excited enough about it dejonte Murray’s one two three four five six past six seasons uh from the time he was 21 on he has never played less than 66 games in an NBA season and and that includes when you look at those those low numbers in the 60s that’s because we had uh covid Seasons so he’s a he’s a 70 plus game of season guy every single season um and again on a contract where he will make less by the end of it than either CJ or bi made this past year so he’s a he’s a nice stable piece moving forward I I it’s a great move it’s such a great move uh and like you said and I like Echo it again it gives them so much more leverage moving ahead uh which NBA need I mean with the way that way that the West is and how the pels are are still trying to you know really be in there and cons get to a place where they’re am Cinder and try and maximize Ian Williams potential and because I you know it’s still there I I think you know uh those breakfasts with CJ and bi must have really helped I really think it made him a better professional uh as we go uh into next year moving forward and I would love to see him make an All-Star Game this year I would love to see we have multiple Pelicans on the All-Star Game this year because they’re playing that well so hopefully that happens yeah he he for sure has looked like more of a true Pro and bought in lead of this team the last year is than we had ever seen and so that’s a huge part of the excitement for sure and now you take some of the some more of the pressure off of him to have to have everything run through him if you’re gonna be at your Peak and so I think there’s just a lot a lot to be excited about if you’re a pels fan right now for sure yeah yeah and uh last real quick thing what uh uh and then we’ll move on to draft stuff uh with bi still being there and let’s say we do still trade him um what do you have any like trade in mind that you would maybe think like uh hey who is a person that maybe we could go try and get or is do we use bi to address that front Court need uh what what what would be your thoughts on a potential bi trade if there was to be one yeah I and look I think the beauty as we keep talking about Leverage is that you have the opportunity if the right fit from a trade price point if that’s not there you can move forward and and address some things in free agency and have bi be a part of this team if he’s willing to to work at a you know a feasible number but I still think we’re more likely than not going to see another big trade and bi is is the nice value that you’re kind of willing to be flexible with if you’re the pels and so some of those same names we had talked about previously like I think a Jared Allen and Cleveland remain somebody worth monitoring I think he’s probably less likely to move now that Kenny Atkinson’s been hired as the Cavs head coach just given their relationship in years past I think Walker Kesler in Utah and watching the way the Jazz drafted I I wouldn’t be surprised if you see the potential of a a bi to Utah type trade but I think part of the beauty of the leverage of this is you now have a lot of options around the country um and just kind of rattling a few more off I know you had mentioned continuing to see some potential for could could cat in Minnesota be a trade I’ve seen that there’s talk of if Portland who now has a now as a gaggle of I was I was I was going to say a glut and you know an overabundance of bigs up there in the Pacific Northwest Aon now a lot of people are saying that the pels are the favorite to land Aon if Portland indeed moves Aon um Wendell Carter Jr down in Orlando is interesting to me an older guy on a a decent sized contract with only one year left but could be interesting as kind of a bridge guy Brooks lope or Brook Lopez up in Milwaukee Jaylen Duran a guy that we’ve talked about out in Detroit on on this before I think lower down the list of potential fits uh probably you know both from a an onc Court fit and a financial standpoint Alper and shenon in Houston oh that would be my favorite miles miles Turner up in Indiana who I I don’t know if the Pacers move off of at this point after how big of a role he played for a a conference finalist team but there are so what happens in New York which is now in a wildly expensive roster Isaiah hartenstein is uh is a free agent Mitchell Robinson how you know how does his financial number factor in with some of the other things happening up there at Madison for a garden so you can be long story short there’s options and you can be kind of patient and see what actually is the best value for you and not have to feel rushed into something and if we were getting upset by injuries that mro Robinson is not is not the guy to bring in I don’t think I’ve seen him play north of 50 in in my life since the war you know since since the war yeah look there’s a lot of options I think right now Walker Kessler and a Utah trade built around him with additional pieces coming back to New Orleans is is maybe as likely as any and maybe as intriguing as any um just looking at kind of where he is from a production and age and number on your cap sheet standpoint but the pels have an awful lot of flexibility and so it’s going to be really exciting to see I I think they add a big through another trade this summer and are able to add a big on the free agent market and and turn that EES Mei standing alone like uh like John Travolta looking around wondering where everybody else is I think you’re gonna see see him suddenly have two or three solid vets around him uh to you know to help kind of bolster that into a rotation so that’s a great segue let’s go into a little bit of the draft since we’re running up uh on time a little bit um uh EAS Mei from Baylor uh and then we brought in Antonio reevs or the pels brought in Antonio reefs Guard from Kentucky uh got a sweet shot um that Kentucky team is full of shooters by the way um yeah so right now E Mei is kind of alone down there uh again you don’t want that for a rookie but I did like the pick uh I like that we just kind of stayed put and we took the best available I I firmly love when teams like don’t overthink it or like maybe reach for someone that isn’t gonna be a good fit I think this is going to be a a good fit where you know rookies come with rookie problems uh he’ll go through those just the same as any other rookie does but hopefully we can get those vets around him hopefully starts to build him up and maybe he can be the missing piece but obviously isn’t going to be that going into this season uh what did you think about the pel’s draft uh likes dislikes or is there anything you maybe wish they would have done again they traded into the second round to go get Antonio Reeves as a trade with Minnesota I believe right or was it the magic magic with the magic yeah um so yeah go ahead yeah and it was tough to keep track of that second round because and I’m sure there were so many trades happening that I’m probably missing one but I think 15 at least of the 28 second round picks were traded at some point dur oh my phone was buzzing during the course of the actual second round um but gonna alert so much I liked the Mei pick I was a guy that liked Don Holmes from Dayton more and some of the things that he brought from a more filled out more polished offensive skill set and some range to his game but I think there’s a ceiling to mei’s game that he you know he’s he’s a little bit more raw right now I think has some Boomer bust type potential to that pick but on the potential boom side I mean a super athletic seven-footer that can be a a high level rim protector and you know a a rim Runner too on on some things on offense um I just don’t think stretches things as much as as a Don Holmes would have and is going to be a little bit more of a project which just further speaks to why you need to get some good uh veteran help there down low but I liked it I was okay with it I I’ve seen the pels hit on enough of their draft picks the last several years that I I have a lot of trust in their their ability to scout um and get the right guy in the building and so I’m I’m good with the EES Mei pick and and hope that it it hits the higher end certainly of of what his potential can be second round to get an Antonio Reeves one of the the top shooters in this entire draft I think a six5 guy that has some level of two-way potential but certainly is is a guy that off ball is going to drain threes at a high clip I thought that was great and then in the wake of the draft you you see them continue to try to add some potential scoring to the end of that bench with Jermaine kard from Oregon and Keon Brooks Jr from Washington two of the pack 12’s highest scores and so on day two and Beyond you kind of saw what they were trying to do um in terms of filling out some guys that can can fill it up um when given the chance and just kind of be some uh some heat check type guys potentially and so I I feel really good about the week overall obviously dejonte Murray steals the headlines but a solid week of pel’s basketball yeah yeah uh it’s gonna be really really fun to see what happens next you know as free agency is just beginning and uh all the stuff that we kind of talked about in this episode what’s going to happen uh we are going to keep you updated on it because that’s what we do here at the pod the show uh do you have anything else for Jared or can can we scattle out here do you have anything else you want to hit on from a a bigger picture draft stuff the bronny dynamic or just anything else you saw in the draft or I mean we I think we we certainly hit on the the pels Dynamics uh really well but uh yeah um I I loved uh God who was it it was the uh Devon Carter the Kings thinking Devon Carter I just like I I like him as a player I think and I think he’s got such a solid like ceiling um already uh or floor already uh maybe not the highest ceiling but he’s gonna come in I think ready to play uh and with the Bron and uh with the Bron and Bron uh stuff it’s just cool I mean we’re something we’re never going to see again um so just like take that in how many how many times do you care about the 55th pick in the NBA draft you know yeah and so at some level that’s kind of special uh kind of like gonna be cool to just say like we saw that like people who saw Ken driffy Ken Griffey Jr and Senior play together um uh but you know I just thought that was cool uh I hate the two-day thing let’s get that out of here like why like why I mean why to so people could see LeBron James get his son drafted in prime time I know why but but even then I I don’t know and we we may have talked about this on our on our like pre Draft preview attempted show but I don’t know how many people were watching the second round of the draft when it was late night following the first round for all these decades that we’ve done it that way I don’t know how many people were I mean it it had to be just truly draft nuts that we were tuning in the day after in the afternoon to watch all of these picks that the odds of of them hitting are so low to begin with um and then the Vibes of it were so weird to me because they’re just in an ESPN Studio Mark every time Mark Tatum went up to the to the podium it just felt so it felt disconnected in a way that reminded me of a Jeopardy video daily double more than an in-person event um when Mark Tatum would go up there and then there’s people sitting quietly around waiting to put on hats that are the wrong hats more than half of the time by this point in the draft and so is a lot weird going on there um the the bronny the only reason I think any casual fan may have tuned in was because of the Brony element and it it’s been interesting to watch how polarizing the takes on that have been where people are wildly up in arms about the nepotism angle or are so gung-ho and and taping for him and I think the I mean the word of this show consistently becomes nuance and kind of trying to find a middle ground and I think bronny is probably a higher potential of panning out into a rotation guy than the haters want to give credit okay and I I think also not likely to be a a star that the people that are caping for the James family would like you to believe but to I mean to your point it’s just going to be interesting and cool to watch watch them be on the court together potentially at the same time and the kid is a year removed from a massive Cardiac Arrest like let’s that’s that’s a lot to come back from who no matter who you are so like having one year under your belt like and then being able to One play with your Dad one of the greatest basketball players of all time and learn the game from him uh and be in a situation where uh you’re get the right kind of coaching because the Lakers do have a a great uh coaching staff for that and they have really good Player Development um that’s only going to help him uh and that new head coach is one of the great Shooters of all time and that’s something that bronnie really needs to continue to develop that perimeter shot if he’s gonna be the guy that you hope he can peek out to be plus he uses the curse Star as well or at least curses a lot on camera there’s no oh yeah JJ I was about to say from from a personality standpoint I I could see JJ being kind of polarizing what’s interesting to me too with the bronny dynamic is I’ve never seen anything from him or heard anything secondhand of reporters dealing with him that hasn’t been extremely positive he seems like a young kid who’s really thoughtful mature and just wants to go out and ball and unfortunately is caught in the middle of all this and now people are so anti bronny because of just the the context around him and not because of anything of his own doing so I kind of feel for him I mean and it’s not like I was a LeBron hater when he first got in the league because he had Chosen One tattooed on his back I was like you haven’t done anything yet um and carried that weight for a long time I finally just got to a point where I was like hey it’s really fun to watch this man play basketball why am I gonna deprive myself of that just because I have a I have a weird bug out my ass you know like not gonna do that uh and I’m gonna tell you my life’s been better yeah the less you can be up like the Celtics right now like do I like the Celtics no do I want them to win another title No are Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum really fun to watch play basketball sometimes yeah yeah like yeah it’s it’s great when Tatum’s on offensively it’s it’s it’s beautiful so that’s the way to end the podcast ladies and gentlemen uh we went over a lot today uh Pelicans draft Dante Murray trade we’re going to keep you up to date on everything else that comes with that so please uh if you really like this like leave a comment let us know what you’re thinking let us know if you agree with us if you don’t uh follow Louisiana versus all y’all’s YouTube channel for more updates on not only padnas but everything Louisiana sports and recruiting and all the stuff that Jared does that’s just I think effing great like I can’t curse star three times today that that would be a record that I don’t want to get into um follow us at podis forla on Instagram we’re going to have stuff up there soon I promise and uh yeah uh that’s gonna be it for us pus out
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1 Comment
Good recap and outlook for the pelicans. I think Murray is a good fit with the pels.
Do you think if the pels added, Ayton, we would see a more locked in version of him? I didn’t love his approach this past season