Hornets obtain 1st Round Pick from Pelicans in sign-and-trade for Devonte’ Graham

[Prowler2k18]

Pelicans to add Devonte' Graham via sign-and-trade with Hornets: Sources

The New Orleans Pelicans are acquiring Charlotte Hornets restricted free agent Devonte' Graham in a sign-and-trade deal, Graham's agents Austin Brown and Ty Sullivan told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The deal is worth $47 million over four years.

New Orleans is sending Charlotte its 2022 lottery-protected first round pick, sources said.

Graham became the odd man out in Charlotte with LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier grabbed the majority of the point guard minutes and gets a fresh start with New Orleans.

Graham, 26, had a breakout season with Charlotte in 2018-19 averaging 18.2 points and 7.5 assists in 63 games. He finished fifth in the NBA's Most Improved Player voting -- an award won by his new teammate Brandon Ingram.

After the Hornets drafted Ball, Graham was used in a variety of different ways -- sometimes starting with Rozier and Ball while also coming off the bench late in the season -- but his production slightly dipped to 14.8 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Graham's never shot higher than 40 percent from the field in any season but he's been a steady three-point shooter the last two seasons at 37.3 percent in 2019-20 and 37.5 percent last season. His 218 makes from deep two seasons ago ranked fifth in the NBA.

According to Second Spectrum, Graham shot 42.6 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last season, a mark that was ninth out of 62 NBA players who shot at least four catch-and-shoot 3-pointers a game.

Graham went from 210 catch-and-shoot 3s two years ago to 296 last season, shifting more as the Hornets played with LaMelo Ball controlling the show.

Graham could step into a starting role in New Orleans to replace Lonzo Ball, who agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bulls.

 

espn.com

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Prowler2k18

[MrBubba]

So three team deal must be dead?

[Prowler2k18]

4 minutes ago, MrBubba said:

So three team deal must be dead?

Appears that way. Would’ve loved to have gotten Markkanen.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Prowler2k18

[WOW!!]

Got a 1st round pick for a 2nd rounder we developed.. Not bad.. Very good GM work...

Hate to lose Devonte but reality is he was going to be a backup.. We need a backup PG now..

[GamecockSmitty4]

So....in a round about way we got Kai Jones for Devonte Graham...who I'm not completely sure we would have kept anyways. Really savvy moves by Kupchack even though I really like Graham. 

 

Now let's see what we do for a backup PG. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by GamecockSmitty4

[frankw]

Good for him good for us. I wish him luck.

[Shocker]

Might be time to look at extending Rozier.  

[Scott12345]

22 minutes ago, My Life Dont Matter said:

It’s a 2022 lottery protected 1st. It means we’ll be getting the pick only if it’s between 15-30. That for a guy we developed into being a very good player that avg 16.5 ppg the last two seasons. It’s not a very good deal at the end of the day. 

i agree...i hate to lose donte...we wouldnt go 4 yrs for $47m i guess

 

[Daddy_Uncle]

5 hours ago, My Life Dont Matter said:

It’s a 2022 lottery protected 1st. It means we’ll be getting the pick only if it’s between 15-30. That for a guy we developed into being a very good player that avg 16.5 ppg the last two seasons. It’s not a very good deal at the end of the day. 

With a lot of young guys that will be needing extensions eventually and also trying to have cap to sign good veteran players, it doesn't make too much sense to pay a guy 50 million to sit on the bench. Its also the right thing to do for the player as he will get a better opportunity in New Orleans. There's other factors to look at in trades besides the actual trade components 

[BuzzCity24]

Yes this was the right move.   Give the keys fully to LaMelo and save that money.

What I'll be interested in is what we do at the backup PG spot.   As of now our starting 5 will probably be,  and I could be wrong but for depth purposes..

Ball, Rozier, Hayward, Washington, Plumlee

Backups we have Bouknight, Martin twins,  Bridges, McDaniels, Jones, Thor, Lewis, Richards, Carey 

That's 15 so will be interested to see what Mitch does from here,  but I like letting Graham walk and getting a mid to late first for him.

[BuzzCity24]

and yes I know I left off Gelo and others on summer league team

[PantherExpress]

6 hours ago, My Life Dont Matter said:

It’s a 2022 lottery protected 1st. It means we’ll be getting the pick only if it’s between 15-30. That for a guy we developed into being a very good player that avg 16.5 ppg the last two seasons. It’s not a very good deal at the end of the day. 

That’s kind of how I feel about it. But let’s let Mitch cook and see what hes got for us as we get closer to the season starting. 

[Stingray3030]

29 minutes ago, My Life Dont Matter said:

 

It was the right move. I wished that we could’ve gotten something a little more back. Something like Jaxson Hayes and a 2nd would’ve been better. 

I like Devonte and wish we could keep him, but he is an excellent backup PG - that is all.  He is not a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd scorer caliber player - he was a very good 3-pt shooter not a good scorer.  He is solid with the ball running a second unit - and we got a mid-to-late 1st round pick for him?  That is very good value for a borderline-starter caliber player.  No way is he worth Jaxson Hayes and a 2nd RDer - especially with Hayes' recent arrest - not to mention we just drafted Kai and JT beside Carey and Richards

A few other things we have to remember - Devonte is 26-yr old so he is pretty much at his ceiling which is a 38% FG shooter - not great.  And the Pelicans are not that good - Zion-Ingram-Val are not going to carry this team very far - especially in the West.  This pick is VERY likely to be somewhere in the 17-22 range which is very good for a nearly 27-yr old backup PG looking for a contract.  

We are building a team here folks - it takes a few years and picking up the 22nd overall pick next year while avoiding $12M/yr gives us tremendous flexibility to draft and sign another big FA in the near future.  This looks like a huge win for us IMO.

[Captain Morgan]