Subscribe
Follow Us
There were a couple of blockbuster deals that went through on Tuesday and one of them involved the New Orleans Pelicans swopping in on CJ McCollum from the Portland Trail Blazers. As it turns out, however, McCollum may not have been the Pels' first choice.
According to ESPN's NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, New Orleans initially had their sights set on Sacramento Kings star De'Aaron Fox. It was only after they were unable to pry the 24-year-old point guard from Sacramento that they turned their attention to McCollum (h/t RealGM):
The New Orleans Pelicans expressed interest in trading for De'Aaron Fox, but were unsuccessful in finding a workable deal with the Sacramento Kings before they pivoted to their deal for CJ McCollum.
What is clear here is that the Pels were determined to make a blockbuster deal to shake up their roster. They ended up acquiring McCollum from Portland along with Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell in exchange for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a 2022 first-round pick, and two future second-round picks.
The Kings, on the other hand, pulled the trigger on a trade centered around Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers. Surprisingly, they gave up highly-promising young guard Tyrese Haliburton as part of the deal, which could have also been a major factor in their unwillingness to part ways with Fox.
