If the New Orleans Pelicans traded for Michael Porter Jr. ahead of next season, they would just be running into the same issue the Brooklyn Nets currently face when it comes to his future.
Porter Jr. went from having an All-Star breakout campaign last season with Brooklyn to now being one of the league's biggest trade candidates ahead of next season. Porter Jr. was in a very low-pressure situation last year with the Nets going from the third or fourth option on a contender to being the only option on a tanking squad. Porter Jr. thrived and now finds himself looking for an extension ahead of next season. All the reports suggest MPJ and the Nets are far apart on an extension number, which may lead to him being dealt ahead of next season or during it.
Porter Jr. has become someone the Pelicans fan base has pitched as a trade target for some time because of his elite shooting, rebounding, and size on the wing. Adding his 24.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, along with his 36.3 percent three-point shooting, would improve this team immensely.
However, what should hold the Pelicans up from trading for MPJ more than anything is the fact that New Orleans would be pressured to extend him. Similar to the Nets, the Pelicans' season could be great or really bad, and locking him in long-term could totally blow up in New Orleans' faces.
The Pelicans would run into the same MPJ the Nets currently face
Now, let me start by saying the Pelicans definitely, from my point of view, have a much higher ceiling than the Nets. However, it's entirely possible that both teams finish near the bottom of their respective conferences. Obviously, you can make that argument that the Pelicans trading for MPJ doesn’t mean they have to extend him, but if the plan isn’t to extend him, what’s the value in trading for him now.
He's coming off an All-Star-level season and is in the prime of his career, so the price you’d have to pay as the Pelicans would likely be too hefty to pay for a rental. It would be one thing if New Orleans had grown last season and looked like a team that was a move away from being a playoff lock, but they didn’t. The Pelicans registered their second straight season finishing below the 30-win mark, and no major changes were made this summer to suggest that can’t happen again.
This feels like the Zion Williamson era's final opportunity to prove it deserves another major investment, and if the season is a disaster, a massive sell is likely at the deadline. Just imagine the Pelicans get MPJ to extend him for around $40 million annually and the team still comes up short; where do you go from there? The key to successful rebuilds in the NBA is all about stacking assets and having flexibility, and the Pelicans are in a place to have that now, so why screw that up?
That’s why my stance of waiting things out and seeing if this roster, as currently constructed, is good enough to earn the front office the right to be buyers won’t change. If the Pelicans are ascending, get to trade season, and MPJ is available, Joe Dumars should go get him. For the moment, though, not showing all your cards feels like the best route.
