NBA New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans Should Strongly Consider Trading Eric Gordon

Fresh Videos

By @DSchultz89

Eric Gordon NBA Pelicans

Getty Images

After a disappointing last few seasons, the New Orleans Pelicans appear ready to round a corner this year and show everyone out West as to why they are a legitimate playoff team.

Many already consider Anthony Davis to be the third best player in the NBA with Paul George most likely out for the year, which is scary considering Davis is only 21 years old and has plenty of room to grow. The Pelicans also pulled off a brilliant heist of Omer Asik in a trade with the Houston Rockets this offseason, which arguably gives them the best defensive frontcourt in the league between him and Davis. So, the good news is that they will have this frontcourt for a long time.

Their backcourt, on the other hand, could use a lot of work. After trading away the draft rights to Nerlens Noel and a first-round draft choice (which later became Dario Saric) to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Pelicans certainly gave up a lot to acquire Jrue Holiday. The lightning-quick point guard only played in 34 games last year due to injuries, and the organization is hoping he will in this season with a chip on his shoulder looking to prove the critics wrong about the 76ers winning the deal.

Speaking of injuries, the Pelicans should be open to trading their starting shooting guard, Eric Gordon, who was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers during the summer of 2011. Gordon has never been able to stay on the floor for the team as he has only played in 115 of a possible 246 regular season games in his three years with them. When he became a restricted free agent during the 2012 offseason, he signed a multi-year contract with the Phoenix Suns. It was reported that he had no interest in returning to New Orleans and that he did not want them to match this offer, but the franchise still went ahead and retained him. Gordon was not happy with this decision.

To put it simply, he is not content in New Orleans and he cannot stay healthy there either. It is time for a change of scenery.

I think the Pelicans should look to acquire a defensive-minded small forward. They are already asking Tyreke Evans to play out of position by shifting over to this spot, and if they traded Gordon for one, Evans would be allowed to play his natural position at shooting guard. One possibility is the Portland Trail Blazers, who love playing small ball lineups given they are mainly a perimeter and mid-range shooting team. The Pelicans might want to consider dealing Gordon in exchange for Nicolas Batum, an excellent defender and shooter who also offers tremendous length at this position.

The Blazers would also have to throw in another contract like Meyers Leonard to make the salaries would work.

For the Pelicans, a balanced lineup and a devastating defensive trio in Batum, Davis and Asik, as well as quickness and slashing ability in Holiday and Evans, would be huge going forward. The Blazers love offense, and adding a big-time scorer in Gordon to go along with Damian Lillard while moving Wes Matthews over to play small forward in their small-ball scheme might be the trade that takes them to the next level.

It all boils down to giving Gordon a new start somewhere else since he has just not worked out for the Pelicans. They might be tempted to keep him being that he is only 25 years old, but they have plenty of young players on their team, and adding a player like Batum would give them an even better starting five.

Of course, this is just a trade idea. No talks have been reported between the Pelicans and the Blazers, and it is hard to gauge the trade value of Gordon being that as great a scorer he is, he is injury-prone. The Pelicans are in a position to surprise a lot of people this year, and trading Gordon for a quality defender who can play multiple positions is a necessary move if they want to take the next step forward as an organization.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on