Pelicans could trade for another notable Duke product?
Apr 12, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the New Orleans Pelicans logo at mid court before the Play-In game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
The New Orleans Pelicans may be fully committed to the Duke bit.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports this week that the Pelicans are scouring the trade market for center options. Scotto adds that Orlando Magic big man Wendell Carter Jr. is among the targets on their radar.
New Orleans needs a new starting center after Jonas Valanciunas left in free agency to sign with the Washington Wizards. As such, there could be a trade match there with Carter, especially with Orlando just giving new contracts to bigs Goga Bitadze (whom Carter was already losing minutes to last season) and Jonathan Isaac.
The 25-year-old Carter, a No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 11.0 points and 6.9 rebounds over a modest 25.6 minutes per game for the Magic last season. While he is not too much of a shot-blocker at 6-foot-10, Carter possesses a high motor and also connected on a career-high 37.4 percent of his threes in 2023-24.
For the Pelicans, Carter could potentially be their third Duke product on the roster (along with stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram). But Ingram himself looks like a possible trade candidate (with a prominent team said to be pursuing him), so New Orleans will be worth closely monitoring on the trade market from here.
