This is a sample of my editing. This was a service provided to a sports blogger, the content was originally posted on the blog, D Talks NBA.

DeMarcus Cousins, along with Omri Casspi, were traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, 2017 First Round Pick (Top 3 Protected), and 2017 Second Round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Pelicans paired the best defensive big man, Anthony Davis, with the best offensive big man, DeMarcus Cousins. There is no secret that this pair could be the most dominant front court we have ever seen. Pairing up two bigs who together average 54 points, 23 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 34% of shots from the three is extremely rare. But, what is left after the two bigs? Not much.

The Pelicans first problem is that they have too many bigs on their roster. Along with the two All Stars, they have Omer Asik who, after this season, has three years left in his contract and hasn’t gotten much playing time. Alex Ajincia has two more years left in his contract and hasn’t gotten much playing time either. Lastly, they have Terrence Jones who has been playing well lately but is a Free Agent after this season. The Pelicans have tried trading Asik and Ajincia but they have not found a buyer. At this point, they are stuck with the two centers.

The next problem the Pelicans have is depth at the wing positions. They lose Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, and Langston Galloway.  Each of the three guys have been improving as the season went on and were playing quality minutes for the Pelicans. Now, the only guards the Pelicans have are Jrue Holiday, Tim Frazier, and E’twaun Moore.They need help at the guard position and they need it fast. At the Small Forward position they only have Solomon Hill and Quincy Pondexter who are known for their defense, not shooting. In all, the wing positions need help especially with shooting as that can help space the floor for Cousins and Davis.

The last problem the Pelicans have is an uncertain future. This trade could be good, but it can easily go bad in a matter of seconds. Best case scenario, they will be the 8th seed playing against the Golden State Warriors. It will be an interesting matchup, but most likely they would lose that series. The worst case scenario is not making the playoffs this year. They gave up this year’s draft pick which is a guard heavy draft, a position the Pelicans clearly need to improve on. By not making the playoffs, the Pelicans lose that lottery pick. If somehow that pick lands in the Top 10 or even Top 5, the Pelicans would be kicking themselves. It could not get any worse, right? Yes it can, much worse. Holiday is a Free Agent and is looking for a big contract this offseason. The Pelicans cannot afford to give him a great contract  because of Asik, Ajincia, and Hill’s contracts. Three contracts together total 27 million dollars for the next season. That doesn’t even include the other players that are under contract for next season. Also, they cannot offer anyone a long term contract this offseason because they need to worry about re-signing Cousins in the 2018 off season. Cousins has not committed to staying in New Orleans and neither has Holiday. In the end, they could wind up losing one or both of them.

Overall, this was a very risky trade for the Pelicans. This is a type of trade that could get the General Manager fired if it does not work out. In today’s fast paced, small ball game, it is going to be interesting to see how the two bigs play together. Who knows, maybe this trade can revolutionize the NBA and the Pelicans can be very successful. Or, they become a subpar team. Only time will tell.