The New Orleans Pelicans have completed a three-team trade that has been in the works all this weekend, sending Austin Rivers to the Boston Celtics and Russ Smith to the Memphis Grizzlies.
In return, New Orleans has received forward Quincy Pondexter and a future second-round draft pick from the Grizzlies.
Pondexter started his career in New Orleans, appearing in 66 games during the 2010-11 season. That year the then-Hornets went 46-36 and made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Pondexter played a lot of minutes in his first two years in Memphis, but has been relegated to a minor role the past two seasons, playing in just 45 games and taking the floor for just 810 minutes.
Rivers, selected 10th overall in the same draft that brought Anthony Davis to the Crescent City, has struggled in his time in New Orleans. After playing college ball for just a single year at Duke, Rivers never really found his rhythm in the NBA, and has been relegated to a minor role on a squad over-represented with talented guards and swingmen. Rivers played in 35 games this season for the Pelicans, shooting just 38.7 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range.
Rookie point guard Smith, acquired in a draft-night trade from Philadelphia, has never found a place on the 2014-15 Pelicans, and spent a good deal of time shuttling back and forth between New Orleans and Fort Wayne, home of the Pelicans’ Development League team. Smith was assigned to the D-League three times this season. He took the floor in six preseason games, as well as six games in The Show, averaging 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists.
"It was difficult to trade Austin Rivers and Russ Smith," Dell Demps, General Manager of the Pelicans, was quoted as saying in a team press release. "Russ was only with the team for a short time while Austin is an intense competitor that is continuing to improve. We will miss Austin and Russ on and off the court. We thank Austin and Russ for their contributions and wish them success in the future."
The Pelicans are in desperate need of a forward than can enter the rotation from below and provide some stability to the lineups coming off the bench. That’s especially true on their own side of the court, where New Orleans continues to struggle mightily. Pondexter can play solid defense, and has collected 58 rebounds this year, including an average 1.2 per game on the defensive end.
"The New Orleans Pelicans are thrilled to welcome back a high character person like Quincy Pondexter to our organization,” Demps said. "Quincy is a two-way player, a multi-position defender that will add toughness along with an offensive skill set that we anticipate will help the Pelicans win games."
Pondexter comes with a steep price tag, however. He has three years remaining on his contract after this season, valued at $10.7 million.
Boston also acquired forward Tayshawn Prince a first-round draft pick from the Grizzlies as part of the trade, while Memphis received forward Jeff Green from the Celtics.
