Joe Dumars could sacrifice a high-upside project to bolster the frontcourt, leveraging an athletic center to secure a late first-round selection and target physical defensive reinforcements.
The New Orleans Pelicans have an aggressive front office that is clearly not afraid to make a move that could shake things up. That was shown right away when they traded away their 2026 first round pick to draft Derik Queen last offseason.
When asked about it, Pelicans president Joe Dumars did not rule out the team trading back into the first round. That would certainly make the draft more interesting, but what exactly would it cost?
New Orleans doesn't have a ton of future capital to shift around to make a move, but they do have some veteran players that teams have been coveting for some time now. If they decide to part with one, they should certainly be able to get back into the first and potentially pick up even more.
Here is another mock-up of a trade that seems to be within the asking price of the Pelicans while also being fair to the other team:
The Trade
New Orleans Pelicans Send: C Yves Missi
Boston Celtics Send: 2026 First-Round Pick (No. 27 Overall)
Missi is a hard player to fully land on either side of keeping/developing him and trading him away while he still has value as a project. There are plenty of reasons for both sides.
The 22-year-old averaged 5.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on 19.7 minutes. Everything dropped drastically from his rookie campaign, though he was actually probably better when he was on the court.
He is a promising player, an athletic freak and could be a legit NBA center at some point in the near future. With New Orleans needing to focus on building around Queen, they'd be better off trading Missi and finding someone with a bit more strength for their front court.
The Draft Pick
Here are a couple of players who could end up being available at the No. 27 overall pick:
1. Kentucky C Malachi Moreno
Moreno would certainly bring something that only DeAndre Jordan really has at 6-foot-11, 243 pounds. He addresses what the Pelicans really need in a paint bully who can fight for rebounds and protect the rim. Someone like him could eventually transform New Orleans' defense.
2. Arkansas G Meleek Thomas
While defenses and the nation as a whole focused of Darius Acuff Jr for this fantastic Arkansas Razorbacks season, Thomas put up a fantastic offensive freshman year. He averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 43.5/41.6/84.3 shooting splits (5.3 threes per games).
The guard isn't great on defense but forces turnovers and would be a solid replacement for what Jordan Poole was supposed to bring off the bench this season.
3. Santa Clara F Allen Graves
Graves is a prototypical modern NBA wing. His calling card in college was his amazing defense and shot 41.3% on 2.6 threes per game. It wasn't elite volume, but shows that he has the capacity to shoot the long ball. He put up 11.8 and 6.5 rebounds overall. As a bonus, he's from Ponchatoula, about an hout away from where the Pelicans play.
