Pelicans' Recent Surge Creates Big Potential Risk

The New Orleans Pelicans came back down to earth on Tuesday with a blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back. Before then, however, they had won five straight games to escape the bottom of the Western Conference. It is undeniable that the Pels have been playing much better recently under interim head coach James Borrego. While this should instill more optimism into the organization and the fanbase, this recent surge shouldn't fool the Pelicans' front office. Buying into the hype of the recent win streak carries the risk of making a big mistake ahead of the trade deadline.

Even though the Pelicans are no longer the worst team in the league, they are still 8-23 and 14th in the Western Conference. They may have a chance to chase a Play-In spot, but they are nowhere near a playoff-level team. This makes the decision to bottom out and rebuild for the future an obvious one.

Pelicans Need to Be Sellers at the Trade Deadline Despite Recent Surge

When the Pelicans were 3-22 two weeks ago, trading away the veterans at the deadline seemed like the obvious path. Even though New Orleans doesn't have its 2026 first-round pick after trading it for Derik Queen, getting future assets and draft capital in exchange for their valuable veterans was the only logical decision.

And it still is. But, Pelicans fans understandably fear that Joe Dumars & Co. may delude themselves into thinking that the current core is worth keeping together. On its surface, the argument has some merits. Zion Williamson and Jordan Poole are healthy, and the Pelicans have been winning. Once Dejounte Murray returns, the team could hit another level and be a Play-In team.

Yet, that is the exact same logic that got the Pelicans into this mess in the first place. If your best-case scenario when healthy is a play-in spot, that is not a team worth investing in. Plus, the chances of Williamson staying healthy for the rest of the season and going forward are obviously slim.

If anything, this recent surge should give the Pelicans more of a reason to blow it up. It gives them more leverage in trade negotiations, as their trade partners won't see a desperate need to move on from them. Trading Williamson when he is playing well, moving Herb Jones when the team is winning, will make the return packages significantly stronger for the Pelicans.

The Pelicans have a nice core of Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears, and Trey Murphy. Anyone besides that trio should be available, regardless of how much the Pels win between now and the trade deadline.

Read More About the New Orleans Pelicans:

• 5 Teams That Could Realistically Trade for Pelicans' Dejounte Murray
• Pelicans' Yves Missi May Be the Odd Man Out Before Trade Deadline
• Pelicans Have Fascinating Saddiq Bey Decision to Make at Trade Deadline
• James Borrego Is Pressing All the Right Buttons in Pelicans' Recent Surge