Yves Missi's flashes of dominance and positive impact on the court make him a valuable asset. The New Orleans Pelicans must secure a first-round pick in any potential trade.
At this past trade deadline, it was rumored that the New Orleans Pelicans were going to listen to offers on second-year center Yves Missi. Even if trade talks did happen, he is still on the Pelicans and has since shown exactly why that is.
Missi is a 21-year-old in his second season in the NBA and has only been playing basketball since 2020 after making a transition from soccer. He is very clearly a raw talent, but he shows flashes of being a dominant player.
While New Orleans could probably trade him this offseason and pick up a pick or so, it would be hard to part ways with such a young and exciting player. For the right price, though, anyone could be had.
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz recently came up with one "perfect" offseason trade for every NBA team. For the Chicago Bulls, it was acquiring Missi from the Pelicans in exchange for two 2026 second-round picks and a 2028 second-round pick.
That certainly would be the perfect trade for the Bulls. They got a young center who could develop into a starter for the next decade and really didn't have to give up anything. For New Orleans, that trade would be a disaster.
It would be no surprise this offseason if the Pelicans end up trying to get back into the 2026 draft. It'll be hard, but Missi represents a chance. The only way they should even consider moving him is if it involves a first-round pick in some fashion.
Through 63 games in year two, Missi is averaging 5.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocks per night on 19.3 minutes.
Those aren’t numbers that’ll blow anyone away, but they also only tell part of the story. He’s such a breathe of fresh air and a jolt of energy when he comes into games that he can kickstart a momentum shift.
Missi carries a +5.0 net rating change when he’s on the floor, which is the third-best number on the team behind Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones. Both the offense and defense improve with the youngster on the floor.
That’s not to say that Missi is a finished product, or is even at a spot to be a team’s lone starting center. He’s still a work in progress.
The biggest things that Missi needs to improve on right now is getting stronger and finding some touch around the rim. He turns the ball over a good bit and can get exposed on defense.
The potential good outweighs the current bad, so New Orleans should make sure they’re getting a good deal if they decide to move on this offseason.