Pelicans OPEN To Trade Talks After Latest Report... | Knicks News | The Knicks Recap Podcast

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The Pelicans are softening their stance on trades, and now, they appear to be more open to making trades after this latest report. We're gonna break down all of these latest reports today.
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And now, let's get started.
The Pelicans are open for trade talks. The Knicks have been looking to make a trade all offseason. They've spoken to multiple teams already. One of the first teams they spoke to about trades was New Orleans. And now, the Pelicans appear to be open to making a trade. A recent report from the Stein Line indicated that New Orleans may be softening their trade stance on young blue-chip players. Meaning, the New Orleans Pelicans are finally ready to make a trade. According to the Stein Line exactly, we've been writing for some time that the Pelicans continue to swat away trade interest in swingman Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. No change on those fronts. However, league sources say that New Orleans has been exploring various trade frameworks to send out former lottery pick Jordan Hawkins for some potential roster and financial flexibility. The Knicks have been targeting Yves Missi from New Orleans, but it's important to understand that this latest report from the Steinlein does not list Missi as a player the Pelicans want to part with. According to theheavy.com, obviously, the report doesn't name Yves Missi or even Carlo Matkovic another center option that has been linked to the Knicks this summer. However, if they're willing to talk trades on the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, why wouldn't they also listen on some of their reserved big men? And that's the main question coming out of this report. If they're already softening their stance on trades, maybe, just maybe, they could be softening their stance on trading other players on their team, like a Yves Missi or a Carlo Matkovic.
But it's clear, if the Knicks had it their way, they would already have traded for Yves Missi. Missi would be a Knick right now.
According to theheavy.com, Yves Missi, of course, is the Knicks' top option. The 6'11 player has only had two years of NBA experience under his belt, but has shown to be a high upside player. This past season, he played just under 20 minutes per game, and averaged 5.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks.
But as I mentioned earlier, Yves Missi may not be the only big man in New Orleans that the Knicks have interest in. Yves Missi is also under a reasonable financial control for the next two seasons, with the team option ahead of the 2027-2028 season. If the Pelicans are still unwilling to deal him, the Knicks could also turn to Carlo Matkovic, New Orleans' other reserve center. While not as dominating a presence as Yves Missi, Matkovic has proven to be a reliable perimeter shooter. He shot 42.2% from deep in the 2025-2026 season. That's a valuable skill set for a 6'10 big, and a trait that's shared by starting center Carl Anthony Towns. Matkovic could allow the Knicks bench unit to not skip a step whenever Towns comes off the floor. Once again, even though Yves Missi and Carlo Matkovic were not mentioned in the original report, if the Pelicans are softening their stance on making trades, then maybe they have no problem parting ways with some of their reserve bigs. If I'm the Knicks, it's worth another try. Call up the Pelicans once again and see who they have on the table, who they're willing to trade. Because maybe last month, they were not willing to trade Yves Missi. But maybe this month, they could be changing their stance on that and they may be willing to part with him.

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For the right trade package, I think it's up to Leon Rose and this Knicks front office to make sure they look at every single possibility before they settle on another option. And right now, given the fact that the Knicks have been looking to make a trade all off season, it doesn't hurt anything to just call the Pelicans once again and see who they're willing to deal at this point. To see if anything has changed on their end for the center front. Maybe nothing has, but until the Knicks call them again, they'll never really know. The only thing we know for sure right now is New York is still considering every possibility available to fill that 14th roster spot. Clearly, they want to add another big to the team. But they want to do so via the trade market, because free agency, let's face it, at least for centers right now, it's extremely weak. Sure, Nick Richards is there, but that doesn't mean the Knicks want to add him. At least not yet. If they're forced to, I'm sure they will. But right now, clearly, given the reports, they don't feel like they're forced to.