BREAKING: Pelicans Trade for 23rd Pick in SURPRISE Deal | Joe Dumars Planning Another Big Trade?

BREAKING: Pelicans Trade for 23rd Pick in SURPRISE Deal | Joe Dumars Planning Another Big Trade?

the Pelicans just traded for the 23rd pick in the draft Are they gearing up for a blockbuster trade or if they zeroed in on a hidden gem late in the first round let’s break down the move in today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans Let’s go You are Locked On Pelicans your daily New Orleans Pelicans podcast part of the Locked Onet your team every day Welcome to another edition of Locked On Pelicans the daily podcast covering your favorite team the New Orleans Pelicans and NBA part of the Lockdown 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 JakeMadison Nola Jake on Twitter here with y’all on this Wednesday And oh boy we’ve got a trade about a week before the first round of the NBA draft that is got a major impact on the Pelicans Trading for the 23rd pick I’ll break down the deal why the Pelicans did this move in the first place Then we’ll look at does it mean they’re trying to trade up maybe for Ace Bailey or who are they trying to target later in the draft with that 23rd overall pick We got a lot to discuss in today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time Download the Game Time app create an account and use code lockdown NBA for $20 off your first purchase And of course thank you for making Lockdown Pelicans your first listen today and every day We are here Monday through Friday The number one Pelicans podcast covered everything you need to know about this Pelicans team So please subscribe wherever you get your podcast and join us on YouTube with over 11,000 Pelicans fans uh there as well And of course on the GF Coast Sports and Entertainment Network where Lockdown Pelicans is playing every single weekday at 10:30 a.m part of a big lockdown block that goes from 10 to noon every single day So let’s dive into this This kind of broke and was a little bit surprising considering it’s got a team that’s playing in the NBA finals in the Indiana Pacers So the deal is the Pelicans are trading the Indiana Pacers back their own pick in 2026 That was top four protected for the draft rights to Mojave King and their 2025 first round pick That’s the 23rd pick in this coming NBA draft So look in in terms of King being a player he was a second round pick back in 2023 played a little bit in the G-League has been playing in New Zealand uh where he’s from I don’t think he’s really much of a factor into this I don’t know necessarily why he was included other than the Pelicans are kind of really looking at that kind of region and playing some exhibition games out there You know I wouldn’t be shocked if King is with the team in summer league but it just kind of adds to that a little bit So I can kind of see the the like business side and decision when it comes to that But this is really about trading a future pick for a pick this year And I think this is a pretty smart move When you look at the Indiana Pacers in the finals right now and if you look at them since January really since February the team was a bit of a juggernaut They had the second best record only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder during that stretch This team is good They project to be good next year too They’re not really going to lose anybody They don’t really need to add anything They can just kind of go the continuity approach and you would imagine that’s going to take them pretty far So this pick when you look at it next year probably isn’t going to be as good as this year The pick next year if it’s 2020 you know if the pick is the 20th overall pick that’s better than 23rd But the likelihood of that being the case is not there That’s going to be a pick that would be 25 or worse right 25 through 30 somewhere is kind of what we’re projecting if they’re healthy And yeah that’s not going to be a great pick And look yeah it’s top one through four protected and if Indiana has catastrophic injuries or something that pick could be better Certainly you know maybe then it’s a lottery pick but the likelihood of that happening really isn’t the case And with the East being a little bit weaker than it’s been um and pretty wide open right with what’s going to happen to the Celtics even if they suffer an injury to Tyrese Hallebertton or something you’ve got Pascal Yakam you’ve got other guys there that’s going to take him pretty far where even then they’re still looking like a playoff team So if there’s a guy you like in this draft and we’ll talk more about those players in the third segment of today’s show yeah go and get your guy and just trade for it now So yeah that pick in the future could be something It also could be worse So just making this move now I think is pretty smart for the Pelicans The other thing that makes this smart assuming they’re going to select someone with it this team needs to add some depth They need to replace some of the depth that they’ve lost over the past couple of years And this pick really allows it This is not a team looking at my cap sheet forum here that has a ton of wiggle room You know they’re gonna let’s call their their top end of the salary the luxury tax threshold You know before this trade they were only looking as of now at about 4.3 million in room to the luxury tax You could clear off Alfred Payton from that puts you about 7.4 You could wave Brandon Boston Jr gives you about $10 million to the luxury tax line That’s not like a ton to be able to go out and really make a significant signing by trading for the 23rd overall pick That player is only going to make $3.2 million this upcoming season Is there anyone out there at $3.2 million or less that would necessarily be better than one of these guys that you would take with the 23rd overall pick is there a big that’s going to be better immediately than Thomas Sorber from Georgetown we’ll look at some of these players right then potentially um Assa Newell from Georgia maybe not What about Wings n Clifford Will Riley Liam McNeely You know I don’t know if there’s someone you would get that would be a better choice than one of those guys to play a very limited role on your team And now you can add that depth piece to your roster still clear say Alfred Payton off and it gives the team about 4.2 $2 million by my calculations These could be slightly off to the luxury tax line if you wave Brad and Boston Jr puts you at about $6.5 million there That at least lets you do something So you can add this young rookie to your team that’s going to play but also be developmental while still being able to get some sort of vet in free agency and kind of rounding out your roster this way So being able to get a guy that could make an impact rookie year on a cheap contract like this to fill out the depth that’s I think a pretty smart thing Again the Pelican salary cap is not in a great spot This is definitely influenced moves they’ve made over the past couple of years Something that I’ve been talking about going back to when they just let Jackson Hayes walk for nothing in free agency I was basically the only person covering the team that said that that was going to happen because they couldn’t add $7 million onto their books without going deep into the luxury tax And then you’re at a disadvantage in negotiations when you’re over the tax and you’re trying to duck the tax to get under it which is about a $20 million swing for the team And if that’s going to be the case you don’t want to have to give up additional things We’ve seen them not do great when it comes to some of the management of second round picks for this team So this is a pretty smart move to just get some cheap depth that can grow and maybe turn into something too and gives you a chance to take a swing on another guy to hit you know basically get another big hit in this draft And that would be an important thing I think for this team to do The roster is very topheavy Zion Williamson making $ 39.5 million Dejante Murray making 31 a.5 going to miss at least half the season CJ McCullum at a little bit over $30 million Then it jumps to Trey Murphy at 25 Then Herb Jones at basically 14 You need to fill out the rest of your roster And the team has lost a lot of depth with losing guys like Naji Marshall and to others over the past couple of years here Look maybe Carlo Makovich turns into something maybe Antonio Reeves turns into something right braden Boston Jr at 2.3 million is fine But adding someone young who has definitely a lot more room to grow I think is a really smart thing to do doing what’s considered a good draft here So this is exactly the type of move you want to see this team make to at least round out their roster better and make them more competitive next year while also thinking a little bit more towards the future So I think this was a pretty smart move by Joe Dumar to do that And when you look at you know who they’ve been working out it could easily be this team is interested in a specific player And I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s the case We’ll talk a little bit more about that in the third segment of today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans But coming up next I want to look at trading up again and Ace Bailey who’s really been linked to the Pelicans a ton And we talked about him in yesterday’s show here on Locked On Pelicans The everydayers know when I had Raphael Barlo of Locked on NBA Big Board on an bit of a divisive prospect but there have been some things kind of coming out about him in the past day I’m going to share what we’ve learned and also something big for the Pelicans with that too That’s 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 Look live events live sporting events in particular there’s nothing like being there feeling the intensity of the crowd maybe you go and see a buzzer beater or fans losing their mind That type of live atmosphere it’s just something you’ve 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Download the Game Time app Create an account Use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase Terms apply Again create an account Redeem code LO CED O NBA for $20 off Download the Game Time app today Last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed And thank you for making Lockdown 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 and join over 11,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well and become an everyday or that means you listen Monday through Friday to the Locked On Pelicans podcast You’ll get insight here you can’t get anywhere else Raphael Barlo of Locked on NBA Big Board was on the show literally yesterday and said he thinks the Pelicans are up to something with the players that they’re working out Lo and behold literally not even 12 hours after that show drops they make a trade We had JJ Jackson of Locked on Duke giving you insight into guys like Khan Canipple and others as well That’s insight you don’t get anywhere else So become an everyday And for your second listen by the way the 2025 lockdown NBA mock draft a five episode series with the most comprehensive draft analysis from NBA experts college experts draft experts Find the 2025 lockdown NBA mockd draft on the NBA big board show the lockown NBA podcast uh YouTube and the episode where I made the seventh pick for the Pelicans is here as well on this feed So let’s get into Ace Bailey Again this has been one of the more interesting things I think when it comes to the draft that the Pelicans are regularly linked to him but not by anyone that covers the team Talking to people around the team I have not really heard that they are that interested in trading up for Ace Bailey This seems to be a lot of smoke from others Maybe it’s Daryl my Philadelphia 76ers trying to push for them Whatever it might be but I don’t think that this is someone that the Pelicans are actively trying to trade up for My read on this is by trading for this pick there’s a guy they like and they want to try and get someone else in this draft to help with the salary cap And the reasons I kind of just stated in the last part of locked on Pelicans here and if Ace Bailey is the guy that you’re interested in there’s been a lot of like shots taken against him I’d say you know ESPN just ran out their new mock draft and there’s some real interesting insight into Ace Bailey They have him falling to sixth and the Washington Wizards in their latest mock draft I’m going to read you this here Quote “Baileyy’s pre-draft workout strategy has perplexed some observers as he’s yet to conduct a single known workout to date having declined invitations from several teams within his draft range.” Sources say Bailey’s camp has informed interested teams that they believe he is a top three player in the draft but also seeks a clear pathway to stardom perhaps feeling comfortable that a team will trade up to get him at number three or four should he drop Some teams question whether Bailey has received assurances of being selected by a team currently outside the top five a to a situation deemed more advantageous from a geographic and playing time perspective Bailey is scheduled to conduct a workout with the 76ers later this week but it’s unclear if he plans to visit any other teams at this stage Should the Sixers pass on him he very well could slide to the number six or seven pick two teams in Washington and New Orleans that are said to be highly intrigued with the 18year-old’s talent and both are situations in which there appear plenty of minutes and shots to be had End quote That’s interesting Look there’s no there’s no getting around that That that’s kind of an interesting decision not working out for teams other than he has one set with the Philadelphia 76ers But this is someone who does not seem to be doing himself any favors during the pre-draft process And if that’s the case and you see him slide and you know I said I didn’t really want to call him divisive in yesterday’s show The everydayers heard this and Raphael Barlo was like no he’s kind of decisive like you’re seeing a clear split with NBA front offices when it comes to him of are they interested in him or not right like some of his interviews that he’s given are not particularly great either You know he said he practices tough shots that others don’t take Do you want him doing that or is that going to run you into a little bit of a brain and Ingram type of situation where because Zion doesn’t shoot threes that’s the guy that you’re building around Shot selection and shot profile is particularly important for this Pelicans team and building a roster that works out there on the court and doesn’t just look good on paper Ace Bailey doesn’t necessarily fit into that And if he’s going out there being like “Yeah I’ve practiced those tough contested mid-range jumpers.” And Raphael Barlo said if his handle improves he can probably get him out of himself out of those spots So you don’t worry about that as much So that’s a good thing to keep in mind too But it makes it kind of interesting around Ace Bailey So if Ace Bailey is your guy right you don’t need to trade potent you potentially don’t need to trade the 23rd overall pick and your seventh pick and maybe Herb Jones or something else to go and get him because of the weird pre-draft process that he’s doing He might be there at seven This is something that I’ve been saying for a while and I’ve talked to people around the Pelicans and around the league too They don’t expect Ace Bailey if he’s there at 7 to last beyond New Orleans If he’s there it probably means Jeremiah Fierce has already been taken So the Pelicans wouldn’t have a chance at him It probably means Trey Johnson has also been taken So you wouldn’t go with kind of one of the elite guards We’re assuming VJ Edge is going to be gone by then So if Ace Baileyy’s there at seven and it’s Bailey Khan Canipple Cayman Malawatch Bailey probably does have one of the higher ceilings there and I would imagine that you just have to take him from a value standpoint but I am not trading up for Ace Bailey in this situation You know if Bailey goes six to the Wizards it probably means that one of Jeremiah Fears or Trey Johnson is available at seven for New Orleans And that’s a good position for them to be in And now with this additional pick in the first round you have flexibility to let the draft come to you a little bit I’m don’t mind giving up extra things to go and get your guy Look at what the Orlando Magic did They they kind of identified that Desmond Bane Again I’m a big Desmond Bane fan Desmond Bane was their guy and they went to go and get him and overpaid for Desmond Bane But I don’t mind going and getting your guy and overpaying for it Sometimes that’s just the correct thing you need to do if you’ve identified the guy that fits and you’re trusting what you’re building towards especially with some of those picks not being particularly great So here though let the draft come to you with two picks You can take a guard a wing or a big with the seventh pick just go best player available highest ceiling and then kind of go more for fit roster you know filling a need with the 23rd overall pick where there are going to be guards wings and bigs available all that can probably play right away and help you in that regard So I still would not trade up to three for Ace Bailey but if he’s there at seven absolutely But this trade to me doesn’t also scream we’re trading up for him This just screams that the Pelicans are being smart when it comes to roster building and getting some value late in the first round when those picks seem to sometimes have been devalued by the NI Allen guys going back to college So makes those picks a little bit cheaper to go and acquire Pelicans kind of did that today Just go and do it And that’s kind of my read on the situation here So let’s look at guys that they could take with the 23rd overall pick that I think make a ton of sense for New Orleans That’s coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans Today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by Ollipop I love these You know what i’m going to I’m going to open one and even drink it here live on as I’m recording the show because these are so good They sent me a bunch and I’ve drank like almost all of the cases that they had sent me This is the vintage cola here It’s delicious Tastes like regular soda except it’s good for you So if you want that classic taste of soda but want something that supports your health Lollipop’s going to do that With just two to five grams of sugar I’m big on like no to low sugar 9 g of prebiotic fiber in every can Lollipop is reimagining soda in a way that’s better for your gut Regular sodas are loaded with sugar There’s 39 grams in a regular Coke right lollipop’s going to flip that script with just a fraction of the sugar no artificial sweeteners and gut- friendly ingredients that are shown to support digestive and overall health And this thing tastes like a real soda except it’s good for you This has hints of cinnamon vanilla and caramel in their old style um cola It’s delicious It’s refreshing I love these Sometimes you just want that taste of like a classic soda but you don’t want all the negative things that comes with it Well Ollipop is for you So you can get a free can of Lollipop Just buy any two cans in store and they’re going to reimburse you for one Head to drinkllipop.com/lockdonba to claim your free can and find lollipop near you That’s drinkollipop Oi pop.com/lockdonba I’ll even do like the like the classic look here Go give it a try They’re really good I’m going to keep drinking this now And thank you for making Lockdown 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 And join over 11,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well And join us on GF Coast Sports and Entertainment Network We are there 10:30 a.m every weekday If you’ve got an office you got a TV a waiting room throw it on Let other people watch the show that way and get them clued into what the Pelicans are doing for your second listen Locked on Saints Ross Jackson of Lockdown Saints breaking down everything black and gold Part of the Lockdown podcast network your team every day Make Ross Jackson and Locked On Saints your second listen today So I don’t think this trade is like a secret move to necessarily jump up there I think the Pelicans just have some guys they like in the mid20s range and want to try and draft one of those guys It makes sense from a salary cap perspective This is something the team should do to add a little bit more youth to the roster and to try and just increase the depth that they’ve had here Taking more swings in the draft is never a bad thing if your roster can kind of support it and the Pelicans definitely can here So let’s look at a couple of players that make sense that they could look at Let’s start with bigs Let’s go by position here I think there are four or five big men in this range that would make a ton of sense I think Thomas Sorber from Georgetown is going to be available there He is a guy that I really like if you just want a more traditional big man One of his NBA comps is Jonas Valenunis You could use that kind of guy Basically just a throwback big but also with really good hands This is someone who can play with his back to the basket a little bit Can be a decent shot blocker averaging two blocks per game Give you rebounds Give you points Just a high basketball guy IQ guy The other thing is he’s got some really nice touch on his shots This is someone who could develop a three-point shot Look a little bit redundant with Eve Mei there but I think Sorber is a guy that could play immediately You know Asanu from Georgia is also someone that is in this range as well I think this might be a little low He’s probably going to go before this but if you’re looking for someone that can be one of the better defenders here that kind of can give you some Nas Reed vibes he’s going to be available here for you Danny Wolf from Michigan I’m not a fan of his but if you want kind of a more passing big he’s a guy that makes sense The one that I like the most is probably Maxim Reno from Stanford who I think will be able to play right away and gives you a different kind of big more of a stretch big than you currently have on the roster in Eve Mei And one thing we’ve learned from the playoffs so far is you need those various kind of bigs to throw different looks at You need a shot blocker you need a rebounder but you also need a shooter too And if you can’t get them in one player you’ve got to get different bigs that kind of fill those different roles Maxim Ray No out of Stanford is a guy that I think could do it You know when you look at guys on the wing the Pelicans have worked out a bunch of these players You have Nick Clifford from um Colorado State who I think is going to be a guy that is NBA ready that is going to be able to help you Bit of a 3 and D defensive wing that does it all You can never have enough of those there The Pelicans have worked him out Cedric Coward from Washington State on the wing as well is a guy that is really rising up draft boards as kind of a 3 and D guy He’s someone that I think makes sense for the Pelicans in that range Will Riley from Illinois as a freshman is someone that’s really jumped up recently He’s a name that I think is something that the the Pelicans maybe really like if you’re just looking for depth on the wing Look with Trey Murphy and Herb Jones there you don’t need that as much It’s you know I wouldn’t call it like a screaming priority but look more wing depth in a bit of a wing driven league at the you know which the NBA is right now Get those kind of guys They’re incredibly incredibly valuable here as well Look there’s Liam McNeely from Yukon that I think makes some sense there though I’m less high on him too But if you just want a shooter that’s going to come in and be able to help with some of that you know those are the type of guys that are going to potentially be available One of those players will be available at 23 If Nate Clifford’s there safest pick you could probably make is to go and get him You know when it comes to guards that’s a little bit trickier here The Pelicans have worked out Jagor Demeine from BYU I think he’ll be gone before 23 but if he’s there and you didn’t draft a guard with the seventh overall pick like absolutely try and grab him That’s a good project You know Nolan Torway from San Quinton in France is a point guard that’s got some very high upside But also if you just want an NBA ready guy what about Walter Clayton Jr from Florida just led them to the title He’s a guy that does draw two people to the ball which is going to open up opportunities and create for others He’s someone that seems plug-andplay even if his upside is a little bit limited I think But if you were to get someone like Cayman Malawatch at seven Walter Clayton Jr at 23 that seems like a good draft to me Or Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr and now all of a sudden you’ve really started to kind of build your core again for the future with some of those guys You know there’s going to be others that are going to be available in that range I think depending on if someone slides or not You know uh keep an eye on someone like Rashir Fleming who’s got shades of Larry Nance Jr to him He’s out of St Joseph’s as a forward He makes a lot of sense Um Joan Behringer I think makes a lot of sense Is a big man too from Europe that has a lot of upside but is a bit of a project So you could go in that direction you know I think as well maybe Ryan Calbrreer from Kraton if you want more of a throwback big All of those seem to make a lot of sense for New Orleans So they’ve put themselves in a good spot to let the draft come to them with that seventh pick and then just kind of do what they need to do with the 23rd overall pick Do you agree do you disagree let me know in the comments down below on YouTube of those names I said Is there anyone in particular that you like let me know what you think Or do you think the Pelicans should move up to number three number four and try and draft Ace Bailey so that’s going to do it for this episode of Locked on Pelicans Tomorrow’s show we’ll talk about DeJonte Murray’s comments on a podcast kind of being critical of the team and what the team needs to do about that going forward More draft talk We got a lot coming here on Locked on Pelicans Never never a slow day So it’s going to be a lot of fun So please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts Join us on YouTube and GF Coast Sports and Entertainment Network As always I’m your host Jake Madison Nola Jake on Twitter This is the Lockdown Pelicans podcast part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every day See you all next time

New Orleans Pelicans make bold move, trade for 23rd pick in NBA draft. Is a blockbuster deal on the horizon or have they identified a hidden gem?

Jake Madison analyzes the Pelicans’ surprising trade, breaking down its implications for roster construction and salary cap management. The discussion covers potential draft targets, including Thomas Sorber and Maxime Reynaud, and speculates on the team’s strategy with their 7th overall pick. Madison explores how this move impacts Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, and other key players’ roles.

Tune in for expert insights on the Pelicans’ draft strategy and how it could reshape their future in the competitive Western Conference.

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