Norris Cole to Pelicans: Latest Trade Details, Comments and Reaction

The Miami Heat traded point guard Norris Cole to the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday in exchange for John Salmons, per the Pelicans website.

ESPN's Marc Stein first reported the news. 

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports previously reported that Cole could be on the move:

Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald weighed in on the possibility of Cole leaving South Beach, citing a diminished role in Miami:

Cole had been rumored as potential trade bait for a while. The fourth-year pro out of Cleveland State weighed in on the buzz earlier in January, per The Miami Herald's Joseph Goodman:

The Heat made the move to acquire a first-round pick, former UConn star Shabazz Napier, in the 2014 NBA draft and have had PG Mario Chalmers as a starter for years. That makes Cole an expendable commodity as a means for Miami to build in other areas of its roster.

Since Napier is capable of providing an offensive spark to help the Heat pick up their pace—which is the slowest in the Association, per NBA.com—it makes sense to trade Cole and give Napier more minutes.

It remains to be seen what type of role Cole will have with the Suns, but it has to be more favorable than the circumstances that beset him in Miami's crowded point guard depth chart.

A streaky shooter, Cole does have the quickness to get to the rim, and he can create offense off of the dribble, both for himself and others. The 26-year-old is a tenacious perimeter defender as well, so he'd be an ideal fit to play significant minutes in a supporting role for Phoenix.