EVANS TO PELICANS, VASQUEZ TO KINGS IN 3-TEAMER
In a 3-team trade, the Sacramento Kings signed unrestricted free agent Tyreke Evans and traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Portland Trail Blazers traded the rights to center Jeff Withey to the New Orleans Pelicans. In return the New Orleans Pelicans traded point guard Greivis Vasquez to Sacramento, and traded center Robin Lopez and combo guard Terrell Harris to Portland.
What does it give the New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans already have a star at shooting guard in {P Eric Gordon}, so this is a curious signing and trade by them. It adds fuel to rumors that Gordon might be on his way out of New Orleans, but if he isn't then Evans might have to share time with Gordon and recently-resigned combo forward {P Al-Farouq Aminu}. Evans is still a top-tier talent who was the NBA's Rookie of the Year back in 2009-10, but he needs to show he can get his star-level consistency back. His ideal position is probably shooting guard. Meanwhile the loss of Lopez means one of {P Ryan Anderson} or {P Anthony Davis} may shift over to center from power forward. Rookie Withey will probably eventually be the starting pivot, but he is still somewhat raw.
What does it give the Sacramento Kings
Vasquez showed last season he can be one of the NBA's better all-round point guards, so it will be surprising if he doesn't take over as the new starter running the Kings' offense. Evans was set for restricted free agency, so the Sacto does a nice job here adding a quality player in Vasquez in return for helping the trade to New Orleans happen. Evans wasn't quite the same player the past couple of seasons following his rookie splash, and the Kings have top rookie {P Ben McLemore} and the solid {P Marcus Thornton} to share time at shooting guard.
What does it give the Portland Trail Blazers
Lopez gives the Trail Blazers a massive new starting center who can provide strong defense and be a replacement for last year's starter, {P J.J. Hickson}. Eventually Withey may be the better player, but the Blazers seem to be somewhat in 'win-now' mode so Lopez makes more sense. If Harris sticks with Portland he can be a solid depth combo guard, but likely won't play much since the Blazers starters get so much burn.
Fantasy impact
Evans gets a fresh start and has the talent to return to stellar status in New Orleans. Of course, that depends on the team moving Gordon, because if Gordon is still around during the regular season then this trade actually hurts the value of Evans, Gordon, and Aminu (who would have to share time at the wing spots). Withey's value doesn't change much, since he is probably a few years away from regular rotation duty. For the Kings, Vasquez will probably be just as valuable as he was with New Orleans--running the offense for a young and improving team. His arrival in Sacto does significantly hurt the fantasy fortunes of usual starting point guard {P Isaiah Thomas}, however. That said, shooting guard is now probably McLemore's to lose, so he gets a boost in value with the Kings (as does Thornton). In Portland Lopez should see a strong bump in minutes, and that should make his rebounding and defensive stats jump accordingly.
