The New Orleans Pelicans are desperate for help at the three.
Solomon Hill — who is better as a small-ball four — was set to play the three, but he is now going to miss most or all of the season with a torn hamstring. The Pelicans are so desperate they worked out Josh Smith, Chase Budinger, and Martell Webster. They need a three who can defend.
Iman Shumpert isn’t that, but he’s close enough that there is interest, according to Basketball Insiders.
Shumpert has been shopped around for a while (but did not ask for a trade, despite reports).
The problem is making a deal. Shumpert is owed $10.3 million this season (with a player option for $11 million next season) and the Pelicans are creeping up on the hard cap they created for themselves. They just traded Quincy Pondexter to the Bulls in a move to create some salary cap space, but the Pelicans would need to send out just about as much salary as Shumpert is owed. Omer Asik fits perfectly as a salary, but there is no way the Cavaliers take him (plus Asik has three years left on his contract, so Cleveland would be adding an extra year of salary). If the Pelicans threw in sweeteners they could try to get a third team to take on Asik, but good luck with that.
The Pelicans have to be looking at guys like Matt Barnes and Shabazz Muhammad, although landing them will not be easy either. That just makes more sense than a Shumpert trade.