Los Angeles is reportedly zeroing in on New Orleans Pelicans defensive ace Herb Jones, but a package centered on Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht may fall short of the Pelicans' steep asking price.
The New Orleans Pelicans hold highly coveted players like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, both of whom would fit in well on every contending team.
There have been endless rumors about the Pelicans trading both for a while, though it's clear that the price is going to be very high if they were even to consider a move.
The latest is NBA reporter Evan Sidery, who posted on Friday that the Los Angeles Lakers were "zeroing in" on Jones as the top trade target for this offseason. It is not new that there has been reported interest from the Lakers, but Sidery did include a potential package that the team could offer.
Reports have long stated it would take two first-round picks to get New Orleans to consider moving Jones. While this trade package isn't exactly that, it's a starting point for the Pelicans to consider.
The suggested trade package being put together is Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht and draft capital. If those are the only two players that Los Angeles would consider moving, then they certainly would need that draft capital to be two first-round picks, as planned.
Both would likely play on the New Orleans roster next season, but they would be downgrades to Jones and don't offer a ton of potential for the future of the team.
Vanderbilt has a reputation as a defensive ace, and it landed him a four-year, $48 million deal that has now become an issue. He averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds on 47.1/29.3/58.9 shooting splits. The Lakers' defense was also worse with him on the court, so he become unplayable.
Now, whichever team trades for him, will have to pay him $12.4 million next season and he has a $13.3 million player option the year after that.
Knecht had a better rookie campaign than sophomore year, which would be the focus of whichever team trades for him. He put up 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists on 46.1/37.6/76.2 shooting splits. That's a solid start, but he was horrific on defense.
This following season, his offensive production fell off a cliff and Los Angeles dropped his minutes from 19.2 to 10.2.
Really, that would be two negative assets going to the Pelicans in order to match the salary for Jones. There would be no reason for New Orleans to step down from their two first-rounder asking price.
