NBA Rumors: With how well the New Orleans Pelicans have played without DeMarcus Cousins, a sign-and-trade might be the best route the summer
The New Orleans Pelicans shocked the masses after sweeping through the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. Not many, if anyone, could’ve seen this coming.
Not even the 22 ESPN experts did. None of them were even close.
And a big reason why no one could’ve seen this coming was because this wasn’t supposed to happen. After losing DeMarcus Cousins for the season, the Pelicans were supposed to fade into the bottom of the Western Conference.
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Even if they somehow made the playoffs, they weren’t supposed to make an noise.
The complete opposite has happened. During the playoffs, the Pelicans have erupted on the offensive end, and come together on the defensive. They bulldozed past one of the NBA’s best backcourt tandems, and have eyes on pulling off what many would say would be one sizable upset.
Barring a huge, unprecedented comeback from the San Antonio Spurs (who are down 3-1), the Pelicans are slated to meet up with the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the playoffs.
And what happens in this series could go a long way in determining what the team ultimately does with DeMarcus Cousins this summer – if they haven’t already come to a conclusion.
As ESPN’s Zach Lowe puts it, the Pelicans and Cousins could be nearing a divorce.
"[via ESPN]All this has presented New Orleans with what looks like an obvious roadmap: Let Cousins walk, re-sign Mirotic to a more reasonable number after next season, and use draft picks and the midlevel exception to stock the roster with wings. With so many teams capped out, the midlevel is powerful again. It could net Danny Green or Will Barton this summer, and perhaps an equivalent player in the next one. Then, cycle through minimum-salary centers who can bang, and sop up minutes."
Lowe continues that even though this looks like the obvious next step, it’s never that easy. Especially not in this situation, where DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are so close.
Finding a trade partner for Cousins could be tricky, and it becomes even blurrier considering the type of injury Cousins is recovering from.
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The New Orleans Pelicans and DeMarcus Cousins might be good together, but could potentially be even greater without each other. And from what we’ve seen from the Pelicans in the playoffs thus far, this summer is going to be one interesting offseason.