The deal
Bulls get: Forward Quincy Pondexter, 2018 Pelicans second-round pick
Pelicans get: TBD
New Orleans Pelicans: C
During the Pelicans' pursuit of the eighth seed in the 2015 Western Conference playoffs -- which ended with a four-game sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors -- Pondexter told the team's medical staff he didn't want to undergo an MRI on his ailing left knee because he feared the damage it showed would keep him off the court.
More than two years later, Pondexter has yet to return after a series of surgeries, three in all. And this trade suggests this may be another lost year for Pondexter, the best 3-and-D wing New Orleans has ever put around Anthony Davis. At the very least, after losing Solomon Hill for an expected six to eight months following hamstring surgery, the Pelicans couldn't afford to risk the possibility Pondexter spends another season on the sidelines.
Above and beyond the roster spot, New Orleans needed the $3.8 million Pondexter was scheduled to make in 2017-18. Every dollar counts for the Pelicans, who are hard-capped at $6 million above the luxury-tax line because they dipped into their full mid-level exception to sign free agents Darius Miller and Rajon Rondo.
Before the trade, New Orleans had just enough available to sign one player at the veteran's minimum to fill out the roster. Now, the Pelicans have more than $5 million in wiggle room to spend using their $3.3 million bi-annual exception and remaining $2.2 million of their mid-level. (New Orleans also creates a trade exception for Pondexter's salary in this deal, though that's an unlikely use of the money.)
So the real winner of this trade is forward Dante Cunningham, the object of a late-summer bidding war between the Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves. After starting 35 games for New Orleans last season, Cunningham declined a $3.1 million player option to test free agency. Until recently, it looked like he was going to have to settle for a pay cut to his $2.1 million minimum salary.
Hill's injury increased the urgency for the Pelicans to re-sign Cunningham, who would likely battle Darius Miller to start at small forward in addition to playing at times as a power forward in smaller lineups. Because of their hard cap, New Orleans couldn't add a player option on a second season like the Timberwolves can, so the Pelicans' only way to beat their offer was creating additional salary flexibility.
Still, it's worth asking whether New Orleans had to trade Pondexter instead of waiving him and stretching his salary. The timing of this move on the last day teams can stretch players' 2017-18 salaries indicates the Pelicans were planning to do so if they couldn't find a taker. Stretching Pondexter's salary would have given New Orleans enough money to beat Cunningham's minimum, though it would have also left about $1.3 million on the Pelicans' cap for next season -- when the luxury tax could again be an issue if they're able to re-sign DeMarcus Cousins.
I'd probably have leaned toward stretching Pondexter but I can see why New Orleans preferred not to add money to the books beyond this season.
Chicago Bulls: B+
The Bulls have chosen to remain over the cap this offseason, allowing them to maintain the $15.3 million trade exception created by trading Jimmy Butler. Using the trade exception rather than cap space to add Pondexter would leave Chicago $11.5 million to use through next year's draft -- more than the cap space most teams will have available to add salary through trade.
According to Locked on Bulls co-host Sean Highkin, the Bulls are undecided on whether to waive Pondexter or keep him on the roster. If he somehow gets back to where he was pre-injury, Pondexter could even have positive trade value as a useful role player on a cheap, expiring contract. Either way, Chicago gets the Pelicans' second-round pick, which I'd expect to fall in the middle of the round but has plenty of upside if New Orleans starts slowly and decides to trade Cousins midseason.
Note that the Bulls will have to send something to the Pelicans -- either a second-round pick protected if it falls in the top-55 picks or the rights to one of their handful of international prospects unlikely to ever play in the NBA.