Austin Rivers

Grizzlies Acquire Jeff Green In Three-Team Trade

January 12th, 2015 at 3:16pm CST by Charlie Adams

3:16pm: It’s a 2017 first-rounder headed from Memphis to Boston that’s top-10 protected, reports Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). If the Grizzlies don’t convey it in 2017, it’s top-12 protected for 2018, top-eight protected for 2019, top-six protected for 2020, and unprotected for 2021.

10:33am: The Grizzlies acquired forward Jeff Green from the Celtics in a three-team trade that also includes the Pelicans, the teams announced in three separate press releases (Grizzlies, Celtics, Pelicans), Memphis had drawn close to acquiring the high-scoring Green Friday. In addition to Green, the Grizzlies land Russ Smith from New Orleans. Boston acquires Tayshaun Prince and a protected first-round pick from Memphis in exchange for Green, and they also receive Austin Rivers from New Orleans. The Grizzlies send Quincy Pondexter to the Pelicans along with a 2015 second-round selection. This trade will help further Boston’s rebuilding process, which has already seen the team deal Rajon Rondo to the Mavs and Brandan Wright to the Suns.

Green has one season left on his current deal, but was reported to be considering turning down his $9.2MM player option for 2015/16 in order to test free agency and secure a long-term contract. He’ll add some scoring punch to Memphis’ offense, something the Grizzlies have been seeking. In 33 games this season, the 28-year-old Green has averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. His career numbers over six seasons are 14.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG, with a slash line of .440/.340/.788.

Smith, a rookie out of Louisville, has appeared in just six contests for the Pelicans this season after being selected 47th overall in last June’s draft. By contrast, Prince, who’s leaving Memphis, is a 12-year NBA veteran who appeared in 25 contests for the Grizzlies. The 34-year-old’s large expiring contract is likely what appealed to the Celtics, who are clearly looking toward building for the future rather than contending in the present.

The 26-year-old Pondexter has appeared in 30 games for the Grizzlies this season, including two as a starter. His season averages are 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He still has three years remaining on his contract and is scheduled to make $3,382,023 in 2015/16, $3,617,978 in 2016/17, and $3,853,931 in the deal’s final season. The sharpshooting swingman out of Washington missed almost all of 2013/14 with a stress fracture in his foot and suffered an MCL sprain in 2012/13 that cost him a good chunk of that season as well.

“The New Orleans Pelicans are thrilled to welcome back a high character person like Quincy Pondexter to our organization,” Pelicans GM Dell Demps said in the team’s statement. “Quincy is a two-way player, a multi-position defender that will add toughness along with an offensive skill set that we anticipate will help the Pelicans win games.

Rivers heads to Boston, where his father, Doc Rivers, enjoyed remarkable success as the Celtics coach before heading out west in 2013. However, there have been indications that the former 10th overall pick’s stay in Boston will be relatively short, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the the Clippers, for whom Doc Rivers serves as coach and head of basketball operations, are interested in acquiring the young shooting guard.

“It was difficult to trade Austin Rivers and Russ Smith,” Demps said. “Russ was only with the team for a short time while Austin is an intense competitor that is continuing to improve. We will miss Austin and Russ on and off the court. We thank Austin and Russ for their contributions and wish them success in the future.”

Los Angeles GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have encouraged Doc Rivers to try to trade for his son Austin, even if the move might be publicly viewed as family favoritism, Wojnarowski writes. Rivers will become a free agent after this season, since New Orleans declined his third-year player option back in October.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) reported that the sides had come to an agreement, though Wojnarowski maintained that there were still moving parts and later reported the final structure of the deal. The pair added numerous details along the way, and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, John Reid of The Times Picayune, and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today also reported details.

Celtics Notes: Rivers, Ainge, Clippers, Draft

January 11th, 2015 at 3:11pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Celtics have been among the most active teams on the trade market this season, already completing two deals with a third reportedly forthcoming. As more activity appears to be looming, we’ll round up the latest out of Boston:

Rumors have indicated Austin Rivers might soon be playing for his father, Doc Rivers, in a Clippers uniform. The elder Rivers told reporters, including Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, that his son almost played under him when he was the coach of the Celtics, as Boston team president Danny Ainge made an attempt to swing a deal for the former 10th overall pick during Doc’s tenure in Beantown (Twitter link).
Rivers admits he’s glad that he can now discuss trades with Ainge again since the one-year ban the NBA imposed on trade talks between the Celtics and Clippers has been lifted, notes Bolch (on Twitter). The league forbade the two franchise from making trades for a season after Boston agreed to trade their then-coach Rivers to Los Angeles for a first-round pick.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has a look at some of the different ways the Celtics might use their huge stockpile of draft picks over the next two years. Boston is in line to have 14 selections in the upcoming two drafts.

Grizzlies, Celtics Close To Deal For Jeff Green

January 11th, 2015 at 12:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 12:03pm: The Clippers are working to find a third team to help deliver Boston an expiring deal to go along with a second-rounder that the Celtics want in the Clippers/Rivers deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

6:43pm: Stein is also reporting that Smith is headed to Memphis, and adds that the Grizzlies are sending a second round pick to the Pelicans (Twitter link). Washburn says Rivers will likely be moved in a separate deal (Twitter link). Wojnarowski notes the Celtics don’t want to take back any salary beyond this season. (Twitter link).

6:00pm: Officials in the Clippers’ front office and coaching staff are pushing Doc Rivers to bring Austin to Los Angeles, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

5:39pm: The Clippers are the likely destination for Rivers, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).

5:21pm: The Celtics are attempting to find a trade partner for Rivers, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).

5:05pm: Salmons was originally going to be included in the trade, but Boston made a push to acquire Rivers instead, John Reid of The Times Picayune reports. This wasn’t the first time the two sides had discussed a deal for Rivers, Reid notes, as New Orleans had conversations with the Celtics last summer about a potential trade involving Rivers, but talks broke off without a deal getting done. The Pelicans, who have been struggling to get consistent play at small forward, pushed to get Pondexter in the deal, Reid adds.

4:36pm: Rivers is reportedly headed to Boston, but he may not stay with the team, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). Whether this means the Celtics intend to waive Rivers or trade him is unclear.

2:15pm: The three sides have agreed to terms, Stein maintains (on Twitter), but it appears there are still some moving parts involved. It’s unclear if they will push the trade through today or wait until Monday when the league office reopens, Stein adds.

2:09pm: Boston would also get a future first-rounder, Stein reports (Twitter link).

1:50pm: The current deal being discussed involves Green heading to Memphis, Prince and Rivers to Boston, and Pondexter to New Orleans, Stein tweets. Stein makes no reference to Smith, who was previously reported by Wojnarowski to be involved, nor any draft picks changing hands.

SATURDAY, 1:42pm: New Orleans is going to send Austin Rivers to the Celtics as part of the proposed deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

10:04pm: Russ Smith is also heading to Memphis in the proposed deal, Wojnarowski tweets.

8:44pm: The third team involved looks to be the Pelicans, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). In this proposed three-way deal, Green would go to Memphis, Prince, John Salmons, and a first-rounder from Memphis to Boston, and Quincy Pondexter would head to New Orleans, Wojnarowski notes. The Grizzlies are discussing various deals involving Pondexter with other teams, Wojnarowski reports, but their focus is on including him in a trade for Green.

FRIDAY, 5:06pm: The Celtics are continuing with their rebuilding process, and the next player on the list to be dealt is Jeff Green, who is likely on his way to the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Memphis is offering Boston Tayshaun Prince and a first round draft pick in return, Wojnarowski notes. There also appears to be a third team involved in the deal, Wojnarowski adds.

Memphis has been actively trying to acquire either Luol Deng from the Heat, or Green from Boston over the last few days. When the Grizzlies couldn’t make any headway on nabbing Deng, they zeroed in on Green over the last 48 hours and sold Boston on deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Boston had initially been asking for two first-rounders in return, Wojnarowski tweets. The Clippers had also inquired about Green, but they didn’t have the expiring contracts that Boston was looking for to make a trade work, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter link).

In 33 games this season, the 28-year-old Green has averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. His career numbers over six seasons are 14.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His career slash line is .440/.340/.788.

Prince is a 12-year NBA veteran, and is averaging 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 25 appearances (9 starts) this season. The 34-year-old’s career numbers are 11.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG. His career shooting percentages are .455/.367/.758.

Southwest Notes: Barea, Mavs, Pelicans, Cotton

October 27th, 2014 at 11:13pm CST by Alex Lee

The Rockets were the busiest Southwest team on roster cut-down day, waiving a total of five players to get down to 15. However, the Mavericks had an interesting day as well, deciding to waive reserve point guard Gal Mekel in hopes of reuniting with recently released J.J. Barea. Let’s see what else is going on in the Southwest tonight:

As Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes, any team that wants to claim Mavericks-target Barea off waivers would need more than about $4.5MM in cap space, or a trade exception or disabled player exception of at least that size. Sefko mentions the rival Rockets as a team that might want to claim Barea but likely wouldn’t based on its lack of flexibility.
The Mavericks tried to acquire Barea from the Wolves last season but the teams couldn’t come to an agreement, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (via Twitter).
The Pelicans‘ desire to re-sign Omer Asik is a factor in the team declining to pick up the 2015/16 option on Austin Rivers, writes John Reid of the Times Picayune. Reid adds that with Eric Gordon likely to opt in to his $15.5MM salary for next season, New Orleans preferred the additional financial flexibility.
Bryce Cotton, who was released by the Spurs last week, plans to sign with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate in the next few days, sources tell Jabari Young of Comcast Sports Northwest (via Twitter).

Southwest Notes: Mavs, Rivers, Powell, Beverley

October 25th, 2014 at 8:06pm CST by Cray Allred

In a preseason survey, NBA general managers ranked the Mavericks‘ luring of restricted free agent Chandler Parsons as the second most surprising personnel move of the summer, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The survey also tabbed the deal that brought Tyson Chandler back to the Mavericks as the most underrated move. Here’s more out of the Southwest Division:

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban isn’t a fan of tanking, but he could envision a scenario where his team would use that strategy, he revealed in an interview on KESN-FM 103.3 (transcription via The Dallas Morning News). Cuban said too many teams commonly tank to make it effective. “Now, if nobody was doing it, then I would probably do it,” Cuban said. “But when six, seven or eight teams are doing it, I think it’s a horrible strategy.”
Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune tweets that Pelicans guard Austin Rivers “has a chip on his shoulder” in light of the team’s refusal to pick up his fourth-year option. Hogan also tweets that coach Monty Williams still has high regard for Rivers, whom the coach called the most scrutinized 10th pick in history.
Rockets guard Patrick Beverley, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, is becoming an increasingly important part of the team, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The third-year point guard has given coach Kevin McHale the toughness and tenacity he wanted to add in Houston, and Beverley’s improvement allowed the Rockets to deal Jeremy Lin to the Lakers in a cap-clearing move this summer. “The contract year is big for everyone,” Beverley said. “The biggest thing for me is to continue doing what I’ve been doing: playing defense, being aggressive, and leading this team. Then I’ll let the dominoes fall wherever they fall.”
Josh Powell was gracious upon receiving the news that he had been cut by the Rockets, but his close friend Dwight Howard could barely talk, reports Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. “He was speechless,” Powell said of Howard’s reaction. “He didn’t really have too much to say, to be honest.” Powell signed with Houston in April as a free agent after not playing in the NBA the past two seasons. The six-year veteran appeared in just one preseason game for the Rockets.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Pelicans Opt In With Davis, To Decline Rivers

October 24th, 2014 at 5:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have exercised their fourth year team option for Anthony Davis, the team has announced. However, the team will not exercise its third-year option for guard Austin Rivers, Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune reports (Twitter links). According to Smith, the team likes Rivers as a player, but the Pelicans are declining the option because of potential salary cap implications down the line.

Davis’ salary for 2015/16 is set to be $7,070,730, and that increases New Orleans’ salary commitments to $36.9MM for that season, though that figure doesn’t include Eric Gordon‘s $15.5MM player option. Rivers’ salary would have added another $3,110,796 to the team’s cap figure. Since the team has declined his option, Rivers will now become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The 6’10” Davis was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and has quickly grown into one of the league’s top big men. It looks like he’s not content to stop there, and after a stellar showing in the FIBA World Cup this summer, he’s poised to take the next step towards becoming a superstar. Davis’ career numbers are 17.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.3 BPG. His career slash line is .518/.133/.777.

Rivers came into the league after one season at Duke, where he didn’t quite measure up to the recruiting-trail hype. The 6’4″ guard hasn’t lived up to having been 2012’s 10th overall selection during his two seasons in the league. His career numbers are 7.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG, and his career shooting numbers are .390/.346/.601.

Western Notes: Thunder, Pelicans, Wolves

October 1st, 2014 at 1:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Two members of the Thunder front office made the list of a dozen potential candidates for future GM openings that SB Nation’s Tom Ziller compiled. Assistant GM Troy Weaver, who excels in scouting and relationships, and Michael Winger, a salary cap expert, have already drawn interest from other teams, as their respective rumors pages show. Many believed that Winger would have been in line for the Cavs GM job if the team had decided against retaining David Griffin this summer, Ziller adds. While we wait to see if the presence of Sam Presti and perhaps two other future GMs gives Oklahoma City the necessary edge to get over the hump and win this year’s title, here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Pelicans considered waiving and stretching Austin Rivers in addition to the notion of trading the former No. 10 overall pick as they sought to clear room to acquire Omer Asik this summer, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Still, the Pelicans held on to Rivers, and they demanded “real assets” in any trade that would involve him, Lowe writes, adding that New Orleans regarded waiving him as the least desirable option. The Grantland scribe suggests that ties between coach Monty Williams and the Rivers family complicate the team’s decision about whether to pick up the fourth-year option on Rivers’ contract by the October 31st deadline.
The Wolves offered 40th overall pick Glenn Robinson III a four-year contract, but he turned it down for his partially guaranteed one-year pact, similar to the dynamic between No. 32 pick K.J. McDaniels and the Sixers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Alonzo Gee‘s deal with the Nuggets is non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and covers one season, but it becomes guaranteed if he remains on the roster through October 29th, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The team’s non-guaranteed contract with Pops Mensah-Bonsu is of the identical structure, except his wouldn’t become guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date in January, Pincus adds.
Ronnie Price‘s non-guaranteed deal with the Lakers becomes partially guaranteed on November 15th, Pincus writes for the Los Angeles Times, though he doesn’t say just how much Price would be assured of that day. In any case, the veteran point guard has picked up a key supporter, since Kobe Bryant likes what he sees from his teammate so far, as Pincus details.

Western Notes: Rivers, Cousins, Ayon

September 6th, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Austin Rivers believes this coming season will be his breakout year, John Reid of the Times Picayune writes. The Pelicans guard said, “I was constantly working the entire summer. I gained 10 pounds and I’ve got stronger in my upper body. This is my year. But I think at the end of the day, I think we all now understand we can only control what we can control. At the end of the day, we let all of the guys in the front office do their jobs. We just stick to what we do. We play.” Rivers has career averages of 7.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG. His career slash line is .390/.346/.601.

Here’s more from the west:

DeMarcus Cousins tells Chris Kudialis of The Sacramento Bee that he hopes Team USA experience for him and Rudy Gay will pay dividends for the Kings this coming season. “My thing is just taking in as much as I can from this experience and taking it back home,” Cousins said. “I’m being led by some of the best players in the league here, and I want to use everything I learn to make myself better.”
With the Warriors signing GM Bob Myers to an extension recently, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders looks back at Myers’ biggest moves since arriving in Golden State.
Gustavo Ayon prefers to play in the NBA next season, but the offers he has received from European teams have been more lucrative to this point, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Stein believes that Ayon, whom the Spurs recently expressed interest in, will head overseas unless the offers improve. Ayon played in 26 games for the Hawks last season, averaging 4.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.1 APG.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

And-Ones: ‘Melo, Pelicans, Rockets, Dragic

September 4th, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls brought up the idea of a two-year deal for Carmelo Anthony that would allow him to cash in on projected growth in the league’s maximum salaries, but the Knicks star said today that it didn’t appeal to him, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal observes (Twitter link). Anthony, who re-signed with the Knicks on a five-year deal, cast his experience as a free agent this summer as stressful, explaining that he doesn’t want to go through it again, Herring tweets. Thanks to the raises he’s earned on his high-dollar contracts through the years, his salary for this season already exceeds the NBA’s maximum, so absent a truly dramatic increase to the max in the next few years, Anthony wouldn’t have stood to benefit from hitting free agency again in the near future. There’s more on Anthony amid the latest from around the league:

Anthony cited his New York-based business interests, his family, and the presence of Phil Jackson as reasons he chose to re-sign with the Knicks, Herring also notes (Twitter link).
Austin Rivers was in trade rumors earlier this summer as the Pelicans sought to make room to acquire Omer Asik, and while they listened to pitches from other teams, their continued faith in the former No. 10 overall pick led them to hang on to him, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune.
The pending Jason Terry trade will give the Rockets a weapon to use in a subsequent deal, should they choose, since they were otherwise short on mid-tier salaries to assist with salary matching, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details.
The NBA buyout clause in Zoran Dragic‘s contract with Spain Unicaja Malaga isn’t prohibitive, and it would allow the shooting guard to come stateside for this season, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Previous reports have identified the Rockets and, more recently, the Pacers as suitors for Dragic, who apparently “badly wants” to play in the NBA.
Lorenzo Brown‘s deal with Reyer Venezia of Italy is on shaky ground, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia hears. Brown appeared in 26 games this past season for the Sixers, and it seems there’s a chance he’ll go back on the free agent market in advance of NBA training camps.

Trade Retrospective: Chris Paul To The Clippers

August 24th, 2014 at 12:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Kevin Love blockbuster now official, time will tell which franchise got the better of the trade. The Wolves dealt away their star player for a number of intriguing pieces, and the Cavs netted a another star to pair alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, while the Sixers look to nab the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. It’s always a risky proposition to deal a top-flight player away, as past deals have demonstrated. It’s with that in mind that I’ve been looking back at other blockbuster trades and how they have worked out for all involved.

So far I’ve examined the trades that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers; Deron Williams to the Nets; Kevin Garnett to the Celtics; Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks; and Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat. Next up is the 2011 deal that saw Chris Paul traded from the Pelicans to the Clippers.

On December 8, 2011, the Pelicans had agreed to a three-team trade that would send Paul to the Lakers; Pau Gasol to the Rockets; and Kevin Martin; Luis Scola; Lamar Odom; Goran Dragic; and a 2012 first-rounder (Royce White) that Houston had acquired from the Knicks, to New Orleans.

During this time the league was in charge of all decisions involving the Pelicans while they awaited new ownership to take control of the franchise. There were numerous reports that other team owners were angry about the trade due to their focus at achieving competitive balance between the larger and smaller market teams. The league allowing a pairing of Paul alongside Kobe Bryant was the antithesis of this goal.

An email that was sent to then Commissioner David Stern was published in The New York Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer, in which Cavs owner Dan Gilbert called the proposed deal “a travesty” and urged Stern to put the deal to a vote of “the 29 owners of the Pelicans,” referring to the rest of the league’s teams. Despite the backlash, the league claimed the deal was turned down for purely basketball reasons. “It’s not true that the owners killed the deal,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said at the time. “The deal was never discussed at the Board of Governors meeting and the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.”

The second attempt at trading Paul to a team in Los Angeles went a bit smoother, and on December 15th, Paul was dealt to the Clippers. Let’s take a look at the players and assets involved:

The Clippers acquired Paul and two 2015 second-rounders (both of which have since been traded).
The Pelicans received Eric Gordon; Chris Kaman; Al-Farouq Aminu; and a 2012 first-rounder via the Timberwolves (Austin Rivers).

It’s hard to compare the two deals and not think that the league and the Pelicans would have been better served with the initial trade to the Lakers, seeing how well Dragic has developed, and how Gordon’s injury woes and bloated contract haven’t quite worked out in New Orleans’ favor.

Once the trade was completed, Paul announced that he would opt in for the final year of his deal, thus ensuring he’d remain with the Clippers for at least two seasons. Paul would later sign a five-year, $107MM contract extension on July 10, 2013.

The Clippers’ records in the years leading up to the Paul trade were quite dismal.

2007/08: 23-59
2008/09: 19-63
2009/10: 29-53
2010/11: 32-50

Their records after the deal:

2011/12: 40-26 (Lost in second round of playoffs to the Spurs)
2012/13: 56-26 (Lost in first round to Grizzlies)
2013/14: 57-25 (Lost in second round to Thunder)

While they haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs yet, there is a marked improvement in the franchise since Paul arrived. Let’s look at his production since arriving in Los Angeles.

2011/12: 19.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.1 APG, and 2.5 SPG. His slash line was .478/.371/.861.
2012/13: 16.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 9.7 APG, and 2.4 SPG. His slash line was .481/.328/.885.
2013/14: 19.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 10.7 APG, and 2.5 SPG. His slash line was .467/.368/.855.

While Paul isn’t solely responsible for the reversal of the Clippers’ fortunes, he’s been an integral part of the turnaround, and it’s hard to argue that Los Angeles didn’t win this deal easily, especially since Paul still has a number of seasons left in his prime before he begins to hit his decline phase.

The Pelicans definitely took a major step back with the trade. First let’s look at their records in the seasons prior to the trade.

2007/08: 56-26 (Lost in second round to the Spurs)
2008/09: 49-33 (Lost in first round to the Nuggets)
2009/10: 37-45
2010/11: 46-36 (Lost in first round to Lakers)

While they weren’t anyone’s definition of a Championship caliber team, here are their records after Paul was traded.

2011/12: 21-45
2012/13: 27-55
2013/14: 34-48

This trade would look a bit different if Eric Gordon had avoided injuries and continued the developmental progress he displayed during his first three seasons in the league, when he was considered a budding star. Here are his numbers with the Clippers.

2008/09: 16.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 2.8 APG. His slash line was .456/.389/.854.
2009/10: 16.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His slash line was .449/.371/.742.
2010/11: 22.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 4.4 APG. His slash line was .450/.364/.825.

Gordon only managed nine games during his first season in New Orleans. It was revealed that he had a pre-existing knee injury that was aggravated during the first game of the season. The injury was originally believed to be just a bone bruise, but further examinations determined that Gordon had cartilage damage in his right knee, and he underwent surgery in February of 2012. Gordon returned toward the end of the season, but was noticeably slowed as he continued to recover.

He entered the summer of 2012 as a restricted free agent and on July 11, 2012, Gordon signed a four-year, $58MM offer sheet with the Suns. The Pelicans matched the offer, much to Gordon’s displeasure, and the Indianapolis native returned to New Orleans a touch disgruntled by the events. At the time Gordon said, “If (the Pelicans) were interested, there wouldn’t have been no tour, there wouldn’t have been nothing. There’s been no negotiations. I was right there in Indiana. I haven’t received no calls, to me personally, they’ve contacted my agent. As for now, I don’t know what’s going on. If the Pelicans match as of right now, I’d be disappointed.”

Since the surgery Gordon hasn’t been the same player. Here are his numbers since arriving in New Orleans:

2011/12: 20.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 3.4 APG. His slash line was .450/.250/.754.
2012/13: 17.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 3.3 APG. His slash line was .402/.324/.842.
2013/14: 15.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 3.3 A{G. His slash line was .436/.391/.785.

The injury to Gordon wasn’t something that could be predicted, but it’s interesting to look at the numbers of the players New Orleans could have gotten if the first trade went through.

Here are Kevin Martin‘s stats during the same span:

2011/12: 17.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG. His slash line was .413/.347/.894.
2012/13: 14.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.4 APG. His slash line was .450/.426/.890.
2013/14: 19.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.8 APG. His slash line was .430/.387/.891.

Martin’s numbers are comparable to Gordon’s, and he’s currently signed to a four-year, $28MM contract, which is significantly less than Gordon’s deal. To compound the disparity, let’s look at Goran Dragic‘s numbers during the same span.

2011/12: 11.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 5.3 APG. His slash line was .462/.337/.805.
2012/13: 14.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 7.4 APG. His slash line was .443/.319/.748.
2013/14: 20.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 5.9 APG. His slash line was .505/.408/.760.

Dragic is currently in the middle of a four-year, $30MM deal he signed as a restricted free agent back in 2012. If you do the math, the Pelicans could have had both Martin and Dragic for the same price they are paying the oft-injured Gordon now.

Chris Kaman only played for one season in New Orleans, averaging 13.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. He would then sign with the Mavericks in the offseason for one year and $8MM.

Al-Farouq Aminu lasted three seasons in New Orleans before leaving this summer to also sign with Dallas as a free agent on a two-year, $2.1MM deal. Aminu’s numbers with the Pelicans were:

2011/12: 6.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.0 APG. His slash line was .411/.277/.754.
2012/13: 7.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.4 APG. His slash line was .475/.211/.737.
2013/14: 7.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.4 APG. His slash line was .474/.271/.664.

In keeping with the theme of “what could have been,” here are Luis Scola‘s numbers during the same stretch:

2011/12: 15.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.1 APG. His slash line was .491/.000/.773.
2012/13: 12.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.2 APG. His slash line was .472/.188/.787.
2013/14: 7.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.0 APG. His slash line was .470/.143/.728.

The polite way to describe Austin Rivers‘ career thus far would be to say he’s been a disappointment, as he hasn’t lived up to having been a lottery pick. Rivers was a highly touted freshman when he entered college for his lone season at Duke, but many draft experts correctly predicted that he should have remained in school for at least one more season. Rivers’ numbers in the NBA thus far are:

2012/13: 6.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.1 APG. His slash line was .372/.326/.546.
2013/14: 7.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 2.3 APG. His slash line was .405/.364/.636.

Rivers is only 22 years old, and he could still develop into a serviceable rotation player, but from what he’s shown on the court thus far, it is extremely unlikely he’ll justify being selected in the lottery, even in a draft as weak as 2012’s.

The results of this trade are a prime example of how it is almost impossible to get equal value when trading away a star player. Granted, if Gordon had not have been injured and he continued to be a 20+ PPG scorer, the deal would look a lot more favorable for New Orleans.

The only benefit the franchise received from the trade was losing enough games during the 2011/12 season to secure the No. 1 overall pick they used to select Anthony Davis, who has the potential to become a top-five player in the league over the next few seasons. If Paul had remained on the roster it isn’t likely they would have been in that draft position, and Paul would have almost assuredly left as a free agent as soon as he was able.

It’s hard to predict what the Pelicans’ record would have been had the league not nixed the original trade. But looking at the transactions with hindsight, the franchise would have received better value with the original deal. The Suns should also send yearly thank-you cards to the Pelicans for matching their offer sheet to Gordon.

As for the Clippers, they clearly got the best player in the trade, and though it hasn’t resulted in a trip to the Conference Finals and beyond thus far, I’d be willing to bet they would make this deal 100 times over. This transaction is another shining example of the worth of a superstar in today’s NBA.

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