Prioritizing Changes the Pelicans Need to Make

Priority #4: Move Tyreke Evans

Dec 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) drives past Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Tyreke Evans might be a worse fit for this team then Omer Asik. I mean that.

Gentry wants ball movement, fluidity, and cohesiveness. Tyreke will never have the IQ to participate in a system based on those fundamentals, and that means the Pelicans need to move him. Tyreke is likely going to spend his career on bad teams unless he ever accepts a significantly reduced role, if the Pelicans want their team to have more potential than that he needs to go.

A bad team who is under pressure to improve quickly very well might bite on Tyreke. This summer is largely overrated as a free agent class, and lacks in strong wing players. A team will strike out on better perimeter options, and then make a call for Tyreke as a consolation prize.

Still, I don’t feel an abrasive need to move him as quickly as Asik, Gordon, or Anderson.

Tyreke is on contract through the ’16-’17 season, so the Pelicans could let him be the tank commander of this year and then trade him the coming offseason. There’s a strong chance this team is worse with Tyreke on the floor then with him on the bench, so he might actually help the Pelicans get a precious top five pick.

I want Tyreke gone, but I don’t want Dell to move him in lieu of moving Asik, Gordon or Anderson.

Asik needs to be gone as soon as humanly possible, Gordon and Anderson need to be gone before the trade deadline, and Tyreke needs to be gone before the start of next season. All of these moves must be done in consideration of protecting the asset which is our 2016 first round pick.

If Demps is smart he will understand this is the path the organization must take. The only players currently on contract who fit this team are Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Quincy Pondexter, Dante Cunningham, Luke Babbit, and Alexis Ajinca.

If he could narrow our long-term money to ONLY those guys we would have between 40-50 million dollars in cap space over the next few years, a young prospect from the 2016 draft, and incredible flexibility.

No path to contention is guaranteed, but this one makes the most sense…………