Rumored New Orleans Pelicans Trade Target Inks Max Extension

One of the players who has been connected to the New Orleans Pelicans in trade ideas has now signed a max extension.

Apr 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) defends in the second quarter against the Orlando Magic during game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

This offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans have been able to upgrade their roster.

In a loaded Western Conference, the front office had to go out and make a splash to improve this team, something David Griffin was able to do by landing Dejounte Murray in one of the biggest deals of the summer.

While bringing in the star guard certainly raises their top-end ceiling, they now are battling some depth issues in their frontcourt following the departure of Jonas Valanciunas in free agency and losing Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller in the trade.

This is an issue the Pelicans seem more than willing to deal with.

Griffin has talked about being excited to utilize more of a small-ball lineup and play with a bit more pace. If that's truly the case, then they might be able to get away with a front line that consists of veteran Daniel Theis and rookies Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic.

But, the depth concerns would jump right back into the forefront if there was just one injury.

Zion Williamson had the healthiest season of his career last year, something the organization hasn't been able to bank on throughout his tenure in the NBA. Hopefully that was a sign of things to come and not the outlier, but until that's proven, it's hard for the front office to count on him being consistently available.

This is one of the reasons why New Orleans has been constantly featured in trade ideas. Brandon Ingram, who is searching for a contract the organization doesn't want to pay, could theoretically get them the starting center who would complete this roster.

One player who's been linked to them multiple times in these proposed packages is Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen.

The 7-footer, who is coming off averaging a double-double with 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season, is seen as the perfect fit for the Pelicans considering his rim-protecting ability and threat for lobs on offense that would pair greatly with their guard play.

At this point, it seems like the Cavaliers are not interested in trading the talented 26-year-old since they just handed him a three-year, $91 million max contract extension per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. This will now guarantee him $131 million over the next five seasons.

That doesn't necessarily mean New Orleans can't go after him, but this new information might inflate the package they would have to give up even more if they want to land the rising star big man.