NBA Trade Deadline: Pelicans will reportedly waive Terrence Jones

New Orleans could not find a trade for him

The New Orleans Pelicans could not find a trade for forward Terrence Jones before Thursday’s deadline, and they will waive him, according to ESPN’s Justin Verrier. With the acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans created a frontcourt logjam, and Jones became the odd man out. 

It is unclear which teams will chase Jones. His former team, the Houston Rockets, created cap room and roster spots by trading away K.J. McDaniels and Tyler Ennis on Thursday. The Cleveland Cavaliers might also be an option, though they have been linked to center Andrew Bogut and guard Deron Williams. I like the idea of the Golden State Warriors getting some more frontcourt depth by signing Jones, but they might prefer to keep all their young bigs and point guard Briante Weber. My favorite potential destination for him is the Washington Wizards, who acquired Bojan Bogdanovic on Wednesday but still need more bench depth. 

This is an unusual situation. Jones was one of the Pelicans’ better players, and he signed with them on a one-year minimum contract because it was a good fit. After New Orleans signed Donatas Motiejunas and then traded for Cousins, Jones suddenly became superfluous. Now he needs to find another place where he’s needed, then play well and sign a long-term deal in the summer.