Feel that?
It’s the sensation of the NBA’s trade season taking over.
Most of the league’s trade restrictions were lifted on Tuesday, increasing the pool of movable talent by a considerable margin. The rumor mill is already alive with speculation and reports, officially beginning the pre-February 18 deadline frenzy.
But the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns didn’t need Dec. 15 to come and pass for them to talk shop. They’ve been discussing a potential Ryan Anderson for Markieff Morris swap for a while, and according to the Times-Picayune‘s John Reid, the dialogue between the two sides remains open:
Backup power forward Ryan Anderson remains a viable trade piece for the Pelicans, sources say. The Pelicans have had exploratory conversations with the Phoenix Suns since last week involving a possible trade involving power forward Markieff Morris in exchange for Anderson, who is in the final year of his contract that will pay him $8.5 million this season.
Ryan Anderson is a perfect fit for the Suns’ high-octane offense that seeks to space the floor and create positional mismatches across the board. He is shooting better than 37 percent from three-point range overall and is even more lethal when firing up off the catch, according to NBA.com. That he’s slated to explore unrestricted free agency isn’t ideal, but the Suns would own his Bird rights and needn’t worry about being outbid. They also get rid of a disgruntled and underachieving player in Markieff Morris who, while on a reasonable deal, is under contract through 2018-19.
This is more difficult to justify from the Pelicans’ perspective. If they don’t want to pay Anderson tens of millions of dollars this summer or believe that he’s gone anyway, it makes sense to capitalize on his departure. But they already missed on their long-term deal for Omer Asik and cannot afford any more contractual gaffes, however big or small.
Markieff Morris is an upgrade as a passer and rebounder, but he doesn’t even come close to standing up against Anderson’s shooting. He’s someone you acquire only if you absolutely believe there is a well of untapped potential within him.
And, barring the inclusion of a first-rounder to help grease the wheels, that’s what makes the framework of this deal so unlikely. The Pelicans need to assume a more forward-thinking approach as they seek to re-rebuild around Davis, and Morris poses too much of a long-term question mark for them to make this move in good conscience.
