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The New Orleans Pelicans entered the past week without a draft pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and with little financial flexibility to make drastic roster moves.
But by week’s end, the Pels had found themselves an established starting center and a championship point guard who could provide depth for the team’s hopeful playoff push.
New Orleans started its busy week by making a pre-draft trade for a skilled seven footer, sending its 2015 first round pick to the Houston Rockets for center Omer Asik – a player the Pels have coveted for the past few seasons.
With Asik on board, New Orleans General Manager Dell Demps stayed active during the draft, trading NBA Developmental League standout and Pelicans’ property Pierre Jackson to the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 47 overall pick in the second round of the draft.
Demps selected Louisville point guard Russ Smith with the pick – a key cog in the team’s 2013 NCAA Tournament Championship.
All-in-all, the GM said it was a nice week for New Orleans as they aim to rebuild their roster after a disappointing and injury-riddled 2013-14 season.
“Russ Smith is a champion. He’s won a lot of games,” Demps said. “We’re excited to bring him into our program. … I think we’ve positioned ourselves nicely here, and I think we have a chance to keep progressing this thing as the offseason unfolds.”
Asik is the piece who will make the biggest immediate impact toward New Orleans’ future.
The former Rockets’ center is among the top defensive post players in the NBA – a player that became expendable when Houston shifted him to the bench after signing All-Star Dwight Howard last summer.
Asik averaged 5.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season as a backup with the Rockets, playing just 20.2 minutes per game. One year before as Houston’s starter, Asik averaged 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
In New Orleans, Asik will provide the Pels with that same defensive prowess, something that will help protect franchise player Anthony Davis from unnecessary fouls in the paint.
The trade for Asik comes at a stiff price. The outgoing Rockets’ center is on the final season of his three-year, $25 million contract with Houston. Because of a back-loaded contract, the Pelicans will pay Asik $15 million in 2014-15, though he will count just $8.3 million against the team’s salary cap.
Because of league rules, the trade between the two teams cannot officially be completed for the coming days. Because of that reason, Demps was mute on the topic during his press conference last Thursday night.
But barring a colossal breakdown in communication, the trade will be completed and Asik will be the Pelicans’ starting center in the upcoming season.
“You probably want to talk about all of the trade talks that have been out there between Houston and New Orleans,” Demps said to lead off his press conference. “But all I can say at this time is that we are in conversations, but the deal hasn’t been finalized. That’s the only thing I can say about that. … We are in talks.”
While Demps dodged and ducked the questions about Asik throughout the week, his latest draft pick will provide the Pelicans with some toughness on the perimeter – a trait the team arguably hasn’t had in the past several seasons.
Smith lands in New Orleans after a decorated, championship-winning career at Louisville. A four-year contributor with the Cardinals, Smith averaged 18.2 points and 4.6 assists per game as a senior at Louisville.
During his junior campaign in 2012-13, Smith was arguably the best player on the Cardinals’ National Championship squad, averaging 18.7 points per game.
Because he stands just 6-feet tall, scouts dropped Smith on their prospect boards, touting that he’s too undersized to be a slashing combination guard at the next level.
But those closest to Smith say that he’s a gamer with a tireless motor – a player that can benefit any basketball team at any level.
It remains to be seen which opinion is correct, but Smith is definitely excited about coming to New Orleans and pairing with Anthony Davis and the rest of the Pelicans’ core.
“I’m satisfied. I’m ecstatic with the situation I’m in,” Smith told a pool of reporters on draft night. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m completely ready to get started. I’m ready to play five-on-five.”
To acquire Smith in the second round of the draft, the Pelicans gave up Jackson – a player who became a hot commodity last year when he took the NBA’s Developmental League by storm last season, averaging 29.1 points per game in 31 games.
Smith is the opposite of Jackson as a player, a guard who focuses more on his defense within a game and less on the offensive side of the court.
In that respect, the swap probably makes sense, as New Orleans ranked near the bottom of the NBA last season in virtually every defensive statistic.
Smith also arrives with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, stating multiple times during his press conference that he feels the NBA teams slighted him throughout the draft process. He said that at various workouts and combines, organizers intentionally kept him from competing against the top-tier point guards in an attempt to elevate their stock and to keep him lowered as a four-year college player.
“You want me to win? I won a national championship, and I went to two Final Fours,” Smith said. “I won the Big East, and then I won the AAC. I won a regular season twice, two times in a row. You say I can’t pass. I led my conference in assists per minute. I don’t understand what I have to do. But now I’m with a great organization and I’m going to be successful. Hands down, I’m going to be successful.”
Houston Rockets’ center Omer Asik makes a move toward the basket during a game this past season. The Rockets traded their disgruntled big man to New Orleans this past week for a future first-round draft pick. The trade can’t be finalized until July 10.
