Originally Posted by
David Fisher
The best argument against the trade (and one no writer at NOLA.com ever uses) is what else the Pelicans could have done with those picks. And not the "having a late lottery pick in the 'greatest draft'" sad trope.
Instead of trading away Noel the Pelicans were going to pick a point guard. Every report we've ever read says that is Trey Burke.
Determining what the team does with cap space last summer is difficult. Without the Jrue trade the Pelicans would have ~$13M in cap space while retaining both Lopez and Vasquez. Let's say they still sign Tyreke Evans to the same deal, but the S&T is just the two teams (Vasquez for Evans). The only reason Lopez was included was to make the salaries match, Portland did not add much to the value Sacramento received (two second round picks, one of which is a swap right).
In that scenario the Pelicans have...
Burke/Roberts/Rivers (Evans?)
Gordon/Evans/Rivers
Miller/Thomas
Davis/Anderson
Lopez/Smith
~$3.3M in cap space
Room Exception
Hypothetically the team can still do the rest of what they did last summer (re-sign Aminu, sign Stiemsma and Morrow). The big difference is what happens this year. In this scenario the team has their pick (almost certainly still in the lottery), Lopez still under contract, and nearly $10M in cap space.
Gordon, Evans, Anderson, Davis, Lopez, Burke, Rivers all under contract.
About $10M in cap space (some of which would be occupied if the team used their 1st Round Pick)
2014 First Round Draft Pick
Now, with those assets, can you build a better team than...
Gordon, Evans, Holiday, Anderson, Davis, Rivers, Ajinca, Withey all under contract
About $6.5M in cap space
There is a realistic argument to be had both directions here. One can argue that Robin Lopez is an indirect cost of the Jrue Holiday trade (as the cap space eliminated necessitated Lopez outgoing in the Evans S&T). With the concerns on this team about having a 20-25 MPG center, having that hole filled is a net positive. However, are we sure that Trey Burke is a starting caliber PG? The argument against the Jrue Holiday trade, rationally, should not be that two draft picks are more valuable than Jrue Holiday. It should be that a tradeable asset (this year's 1st Round Pick) and the additional cap space could be more valuable, especially if Robin Lopez is still on the team.