NBA Rumors: New Orleans Pelicans after Chicago Bulls 19th-overall pick?
A recent report suggested that the New Orleans Pelicans are one of a few teams (with the New York Knicks being one of the others) who is looking to trade into the first round.
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Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders asked about what pick the Pelicans could target and pointed to the Chicago Bulls as a possibility.
"DanielPelicans “Aggressively” pursuing a first rounder per Marc Spears. Any idea as to what teams might be looking to offload a first? Steve KylerWhich picks… every team with a second first rounder has that pick on the market. The problem is they usually want an unprotected pick in the future as part of a deal and most teams won’t surrender that, and taking on a veteran contract before the draft is always a little tough. Usually what happens in these situations is that once players start falling and landing in specific spots, picks open up when targets go away.For instance if the Bulls had their eye on a couple of guys at 19 and those guys are gone at 18, they may be more open to moving the 19 at a lower price."
The Bulls may also want to deal the pick as they try to clear cap room to make a run at New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony and Minnesota Timberwolves’ power forward Kevin Love.
The Pelicans of course dealt their first round last season (Nerlens Noel) and this season to the Philadelphia 76ers for point guards Jrue Holiday and Pierre Jackson.