Jaren Jackson Jr. is gesturing his way out of the Big Easy
And so, after months of speculation, the trade has finally happened. Jaren Jackson Jr., after two partial seasons and a full one in New Orleans, is packing his bags, heading east to Orlando in a massive, four-team blockbuster that goes as follows:
It's a daring move by the Pelicans, a high-risk dice roll intended to make them contenders this season.Magic
SENDS
Ben Simmons - $12,900,000
Matas Buzelis- $3,954,399
Theo Maledon - $4,000,000
Pelicans '37 1st
ORL '38 2nd
3 Instructions
Total - $20,854,399
RECEIVES
Jaren Jackson Jr - $20,414,000
Pelicans '36 1st
Pelicans '38 1st
Total - $20,414,000
T-Wolves
SENDS
Bol Bol - $15,120,000
Total - $15,120,000 x 1.50 = $22,680,000
RECEIVES
Harold Yu - $2,910,202
Kris Murray - $986,262
Markus Howard - $3,000,000
Matas Buzelis - $3,954,399
ORL '38 2nd
3 Instructions
Total: $10,850,863
Clippers
SENDS
Harold Yu: $2,910,202
Kris Murray: $986,262
Markus Howard: $3,000,000
Total: $13,050,428
RECEIVES
Ben Simmons: $12,900,000
Total: $12,900,000
Pelicans
SENDS
Jaren Jackson Jr - $20,414,000
Pelicans '36 1st
Pelicans '38 1st
Total - $20,414,000
RECEIVES
Bol Bol - $15,120,000
Theo Maledon - $4,000,000
Pelicans '37 1st
Total - $19,120,000
JJJ has had something of a puzzling arc in New Orleans - once an All-Star and All-CSL player in New York, following stints in Utah and Chicago, he has become an 12/10/2 player in the Big Easy, settling in to a hybrid PF/CE role this season after having previously played almost exclusively center, off to a hot streak in shooting this season (58.1%), but otherwise being a 50% shooter prone to the worst timing for injuries and frequently plagued by foul trouble, as only one season averaging over 29 minutes a game attests.
And despite his _14.4 ON (second only to Olivier-Maxence Prosper, there was the widespread feeling around the front office that he simply couldn't be relied upon to be the big man who could reliably be one of the secondary stars to Jayson Tatum.
Thus, this trade, for a player the Pelicans have repeatedly, quietly eyed over the years but never feeling they had the assets to try and acquire him.
Bol Bol to the Magic almost happened... until it didn't, and he'll be banging them in the Big Easy now
Said one scout of the trade's effects, "Bol Bol makes that post defense even scarier - going from 6'11, 247 to 7'2, 268 and he's an even better defender and shotblocker, with better discipline and ability to avoid getting in foul trouble. That's 48 minutes of 7-foot shotblocking menaces who don't give up fouls easily now in Bol and Ighodaro. The 40.8% shooting in Minnesota so far this season doesn't concern me. It's a career-low because it's in that 7SOL offense and forcing him into more rid-range and quicker shot attempts than he prefers. Put him in that Pelicans Grind offense and his numbers go right back to what we expect."
Then there's the other part of the deal, a player New Orleans never sought to actively acquire, but who nonetheless represents a key shift that should have a discernible difference in terms of the team play:
b]The Maledon[/b] is excited for the chance of regular playing time again
As great as Evans Ganapamo has been as a surprise scoring fit off the bench at point guard, the injury to Isaiah Quickley that will keep him out of tonight's game against the Clippers (ironically one of the teams in the trade) exposed what Pels Nation has been fretting about all season long - there simply isn't the security blanket of a floor general since J.D. Davison spurned returning in favor of defecting to the Lakers this offseason., and makes an IQ injury especially devastating due to lack of a third true point guard.
The 26 year-old Maledon changes all that. A true floor general, he has some 3 point pop scoring ability and some ability to steal the ball, along with solid discipline and basketball intelligence. He put in some notable performances in Utah and did reasonably well in Orlando in his 8 minutes a game last season, though has yet to see the court this year due to the plethora of PG options.
"I'm very curious to see what this kid does in New Orleans," said a league analyst. "He's been playing in up-tempo systems his entire career with the exception of maybe his rookie years in Oklahoma City when he was raw, so I'm really curious to see how he does in a suffocating, glacial pressure system."
The LIneup Impact
PG Isiah Quickley
SG Jayson Tatum
SF Poku
PF OMP
CE Bol Bol
Oso Ighodaro (SF/PF/CE)
Theo Maledon (PG)
Evans Ganapamo (PG/SG/SF)
Cam Whitmore (SG/SF)
Savion Flagg (SF/PF)
Mychal Mulder (SG/SF)
Ray Spalding (PF/CE)
Inactive Reserve
Oscar da Silva
Thoughts
The Pelicans have been very good at putting together positive Net Rating starting lineups in the Jestor era. It's been finding the right second unit that's been an issue and has prevented them from taking the next step into the CSL elite teams. The new second team will feature much improved ballhandling and defense by inserting Mulder, sliding Evans and Whitmore down, and dropping Mulder from the rotation. Very curious to see what they do with the backup PF spot. Does it go to Flagg or do they do the same rigging with the lineups they've done all year to put OMP there and make sure Ighodaro, who they're incredibly high on, continues to get 32 MPG - possibly splitting PF and CE to see how it goes?
Paint protection looks more frightening as already mentioned, and they've got a specialist ball-thief and a specialist blocker, both with discipline upgrades over JJJ, in the starting five now., as opposed to the very good at both in JJJ. And with Poku at SF, this just becomes an absolute nightmare 3-5 to go against in terms of hanging on to the ball - get past the turnover generating god in Poku and you've got a Scylla and Charybydis situation in OMP and Bol.
Examining the Picks
Word on the street is the Pelicans front office is not impressed with this draft class to date, and if there was ever going to be a year they'd miss, this is it. Next year will have the same dilemma as this season - a team that might not be contender-worthy (Tatum is certain not to return), an aging excellent player in Bol who is a massive expiring, and no 1st round pick the season after. So in some ways, this is kicking the can down the road.
New Orleans has fallen in love with Evans Ganapamo's fit in their scheme
Free Agency Notes
With the exception of Anfernee Simons, free agency has traditionally not been kind to the Pelicans in the Jestor era (see: Cam Reddish, J.D. Davison), so essentially this is spending that future cap to guarantee a great player on the roster in Bol Bol, rather than risk coming up empty-handed after letting Tatum and JJJ walk for the cap space and retooling. Now the focus will turn to trying to retain Ganapamo or Maledon - maybe even both if the finances work out. OMP is certain to return, and high likelihood the underrated Flagg does, too.
