The New Orleans Pelicans are in a dire fight for the play-in tournament. Getting better quickly is their primary goal and at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline, they did just that. They got CJ McCollum from the Portland Trail Blazers and got better, on paper, instantly. However, while McCollum is a plus, he is not what the Pelicans really needed. He does not move the needle defensively for the Pelicans whatsoever, and that is their biggest issue. Thus, not getting better and even getting worse in that segment was the Pelicans’ biggest mistake at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline.

Pelicans’ biggest 2022 NBA Trade Deadline mistake 

Of course, there are positives for the McCollum deal. He has two years on his deal and will bring some semblance of stability to the Pelicans. They now have the trio of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and McCollum for at least two seasons to try and bring some playoff basketball to the Big Easy. Also, they did not give out too much, losing Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and a first-round selection in 2022 if it is between five and fourteen. Getting McCollum should help them reach a better place in the standings, but they did not address the key issue of their squad – defense.

That is not to say that the Pelicans are playing excellent offensively, ranking just 24th in the league in that regard, according to Basketball Reference. However, their biggest issues seem to come from defense, since they traded away their best defender in the CJ McCollum deal, Josh Hart. Hart is not a superstar, but he did the dirty work for the Pelicans. He was their primary stopper on the wings and a solid three-point shooter, connecting on 32.3% of his attempts from behind the arc, around the league average of 33%.

Without him, the Pelicans are left with an outside line of Devonte Graham, McCollum, and Ingram, with Herbert Jones and Jonas Valanciunas rounding up their starting five. Obviously, one key part is missing in Zion Williamson, but he is not a great defender as well. To cover the outside line first, all three are sub-par defenders which might have some good games but are severely limited by their size. McCollum is just six-foot-three, while Ingram is six-foot-eight, but the same weight as McCollum. With some absolute superstar guards and wings in the West, there are serious doubts about how the Pelicans can defend anyone in a play-in match or a playoff series, should they get there.

All we really need to do is look at current play-in teams to find out the exact amount of trouble the Pelicans are in, in regards to their defense. Current teams from the 7th down to the 10th seed are the Timberwolves, Lakers, Clippers, and Trail Blazers. The Blazers are likely going to be out, without Lillard for an extended period of time and with a depleted roster, so let's assume the Pelicans are in. The Lakers and Clippers, between them, have four forwards which are incredible. The Pelicans would surely struggle to defend LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, or Anthony Davis, in this setup.

When it comes to playoff teams, there are some absolutely amazing guards that the Pelicans should worry very much about, if they plan to be in the playoffs. The top four teams all rely on their great guards to play this level of basketball. The Suns have Devin Booker and Chris Paul, the Warriors have Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the Jazz have Donovan Mitchell, and the Grizzlies have Ja Morant. All of these are incredible players and with a backline of Graham and McCollum, the Pelicans will surely struggle to keep points off the board.

Also, the Pelicans did not get any help in their frontcourt. Until and if Zion Williamson comes back this season, they are stuck on Valanciunas, Jones, Willy Hernangomez, and Jaxson Hayes. They are all players capable of having solid outputs, with Valanciunas actually leading the league in three-point percentage on a solid number of shots. However, they are all subpar defenders and when that meshes into the poor defensive capabilities of the rest of the roster, it spells a lot of trouble for the squad and their hopes of making a splash.

Obviously, the Pelicans needed to do something. Getting a great scorer for pennies on a dollar, or so it seems, is a good option, but it is not the optimal one. Keeping Josh Hart and bolstering their defensive capabilities would have given the Pelicans a lot of hope going forward that they can actually take games off the best teams and their play-in rivals. In this setup, they tied themselves to a core of three basically non-defenders, one of which has not featured all of this season, and while McCollum can still be traded away in the summer if things do not work out, the Pelicans would still lose value on him. All in all, the Pelicans got better, but not enough for a guaranteed play-in spot.