Moses Moody finally leaves his New Orleans nightmare
18 games. 34.8% from the floor, 31.1% from 3 point range. Declines in nearly every single statistical category. And the nightly frustration on social media and rages in the front office. But we'll talk more about the Moses Moody experience and the trade that freed both him and the Pelicans from the unending nightmare later.
Simply put, in a whirlwind series of deals in a season full of swaps that left the core untouched, New Orleans shook up their roster yet again and a breathless, dizzying series of decisions await in the offseason.
Let's start with the first one - a deal that was agreed to at the same time that Moses Brown came over from Washington, but because of trade restrictions necessitated a deadline move before finally being consummated.
Code: Select all
CHICAGO BULLS
SENDS
Princepal Singh - $929,022
Total $$$ Sent: $929,022
RECEIVES
Jalen Adams - $986.262
2nd DET 2033
2nd SAS 2035
3 instructions
Total $$$ Received: $986.262
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
SENDS
Alessando Pajola - $530,414
Josh Minott - $510,014
2nd DET 2033
2nd SAS 2035
3 instructions
Total $$$ Sent: $1,040,428
RECEIVES
Princepal Singh - $929,022
Total $$$ Received: $929,022
UTAH JAZZ
SENDS
Jalen Adams - $986.262
Total $$$ Sent: $986.262
RECEIVES
Alessando Pajola - $530,414
Josh Minott - $510,014
Total $$$ Received: $1,040,428
What role will Princepal Singh play?
New Orleans was torn between who was the better fit: Moses Brown or Princepal Singh. They eventually went with Brown but then realized they could also acquire Singh for a couple of their treasure trove of 2nds and some instructions. Alessandro Pajola and Mr. Irrelevant, Josh Minott were needed for salary matching, wherein the Utah Jazz stepped in with Jalen Adams to acquire the two projects.
Singh is a natural scorer who flourished in Miami, but struggled somewhat with efficiency in Chicago. A balanced rebounder with some foul drawing and shotblocking ability, at 6'9", 203 lbs. he's limited to PF for short center-phobic teams like the Pelicans. It opens up the question as to who will start next to Victor "Wemby" Wembanyama - Brown? Or Singh? It seems likely he'll be the backup to give the second team a gravitational scorer they can rely on, but watch this space.
The other trades both literally came on Deadline Day - one in the morning, the other with mere minutes before time expired.
The first addressed the problem of backup point guard the Pelicans have been trying to solve since they traded away Donte DiVicenzio in the Moses Brown deal. Preseason darling and out of rotation Chuma Okeke was shipped with 2 instructions and veteran forward Eric Paschall, acquired in the ill-fated Moody deal to the Wizards to acquire Jason Preston.
Jason Preston's magnificent hair will make him a front office darling
The 23 year old Preston, selected 14th overall, did well with the Los Angeles Lakers, improving every season, when he was dealt for a package to the Wizards this offseason. He then promptly pulled a Moody, posting shocking career-low 32.9% from the floor, 24.1% behind the arc efficiency numbers despite career conversion rates of 42.9% and 34.7% respectively, with excellent sophomore and third year campaigns - especially from downtown (including the disaster season).
What might save him if his poor shooting continues isn't just his great hair. It's his defensive metrics. Compare:
Moody: 89.9% Drive Stop Rate, 1.7 TOFC, 1.04 PA/SF
Preston: 90.3% Drive Stop Rate, 1.2 TOFC, 0.95 PA/SF (11 fewer minutes per game)
Simply put, Moody has not lived up to his defensive billing from a PA/SF perspective. Preston has. And that defense will be critical in the Pelicans' gritty, forced inefficiency game.
And then came the move that was the salvation of everyone in the building. The one that finally ended the awfulness and will hopefully staunch the bleeding that saw New Orleans go from 3 games over .500 and comfortably in the last play-in spot to 4 games under .500 and fighting for their play-in lives.
Moses Moody was sent to the surging Detroit Pistons who have found new life under Frank Vogel in exchange for Hugo Besson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Zhaire Smith (immediately cut), and the Miami Heat's 2033 1st round pick.
"It was ugly around here," said an anonymous team source. "Jestor's eyes were blazing with rage every time we lost and Moody was a big piece of the L puzzle. Couldn't buy a shot, took too many shots, killed our lineup rhythms. In fact, when he was in Chicago, he started screaming that he was going to decline the QO and renounce Moody's shitburger ass. Fuck it, he didn't care. He was going to take that L because Moody's play pissed him off so much, and how it wrecked the chemistry we have."
In making the trade, they restored some of the huge value loss they took in sending away their 1st next season with Top 10 protection. A 1st for a 1st goes down a lot easier than a negative player who would cause financial anxiety over whether to retain him. Especially when the Heat are looking up at the Atlanta Hawks in the Southeast standings.
But about the players...
Will Hugo Besson continue to get minutes?
23 year old Hugo Besson is a player whose name hasn't been mentioned much. Undrafted in 2030, he comes equipped with starter-level passing and handling at PG and has the length at 6'5 to play both guard spots with ease. 38.5% shooter from downtown as he's flourished with extended playing time in Motown this season, which originally gave him a chance his rookie season.
His defensive metrics? 69.1% Drive Stop Rate, 0.9 TOFC, 0.92 PA/SF.
All told, it's a makeup that looks good enough to get playing time as the new backup SG, sandwiched in between Preston and Olivier Maxence-Prosper. Preston has the far superior A/TO ratio, Asst %, and TO% numbers to be the PG. And while his inconsistency and general jackassery mean he probably won't be back, he'll work for this season. And it's possible he could switch to PG if Preston struggles there. But if he struggles, Jestor's old favorite Dikembe Dixson is waiting.
You'll probably never hear from Isaiah Hartenstein again
The 30 year old German big man Isaiah Hartenstein has carved out a lengthy career for himself as a reserve player after being drafted in the 2nd round back in 2021. Terrific 3 point shooter for a big man, with excellent handles and foul drawing ability. Can't rebound or defend all that well, despite a 71% Drive Stop Rate and 0.95 PA/SF showing better metrics than you expect. On a team that is now deep at center with Wemby, Brown, and Zach Collins, he won't sniff the court and will be inactive most games.
So What The Hell Now?
Things get really messy and complicated now in a lot of ways. Rotations and offseason decisions both are much more complicated than it looked at the beginning of the season, when everyone was projecting another rebuilding year and patiently waiting to acquire more talent in the draft for a slow, slow rebuild around Wemby.
First, the easiest part.
Starting Lineup
PG Anfernee Simons (26)
SG Tyrese Maxey (22)
SF Aaron Wiggins (27)
PF Moses Brown (24)
CE Victor Wembanyama (20)
Second String
PG Jason Preston (23)
SG Hugo Besson (23)
SF Olivier Maxence-Prosper (21)
PF Princepal Singh (22)
CE Zach Collins (30)
Third String
SG/SF Dikembe Dixson (31)
PF/CE Mouhamed Gueye (21)
Inactive
Bones Hyland
Isaiah Hartenstein
Zhaire Smith didn't need to be cut. They were at 15 with him. Uh-oh, Spaghettios!
Next, the draft picks this year:
1. New Orleans 1st
2. Miami 1st
3. Magic 2nd
4. Pelicans 2nd
Traded Out: Spurs 2nd, Pistons 2nd (Singh deal)
Expiring Contracts - Won't Return
1. Hyland
2. Hartenstein
3. Dixson
4. Besson
So that will be an even 4 for 4 swap.
14 = 14
Team Options
Wiggins - $8,000,000
Collins - $9,500,000
Brown - $5,750,000
Total: $23,250,000
Rookie Options Decisions
OMP - 3rd year
Gueye - 4th year
OMP's 3rd year will be picked up. Gueye's 4th year is an open question and may be a preseason decision.
Current Projected Salary (no TOs renounced):
$52,065,178
Current Projected Cap Space (no TOs renounced):
Roughly $11 million before 1st round pick signings ($5.7 million in cut salary off the books, plus the min-sal guys evicted)
If Everyone Is Renounced Except Preston and Singh, not counting their cap holds
Roughly $34.25 million before 1st round pick signings
If Collins alone is declined/renounced
Roughly $20.5 million before 1st round pick signings
If Collins and Wiggins are declined/renounced
Roughly $28.5 million before 1st round pick signings
There are a lot of different possibilities in play here. Renouncing everyone potentially puts the Pelicans in double max territory before Preston and Singh need to be resigned. If no one is renounced, there's a decent chunk of change before resignings need to happen. And of course, there's points in between to consider.
"I think that's for future New Orleans to worry about," said an independent capologist. "They need to look at the free agency class, look at the guys they end up drafting, see what slots they have available, keep in mind that they need to make sure they have money for Maxey and Wemby when those extensions come up... there's a lot of moving pieces."
And to think when Jestor took over about this time a year ago, the Pelicans were facing utter cap hell with one of the worst-performing rosters in the league....
