NBA Trade Rumors on Herb Jones amid Lakers, Pelicans Buzz Ahead of Deadline

Rival NBA teams reportedly expect the Los Angeles Lakers to target New Orleans Pelicans wing Herb Jones in an effort to bolster their defense ahead of the February trade deadline.

The Athletic's Dan Woike named Jones as "the player most often linked to the Lakers as a target by rival scouts and executives."

According to Woike, however, the Pelicans are "not interested in moving Jones."

"And considering what LA would have to offer in a deal, expiring contracts and a single first-round pick, the Pelicans almost certainly wouldn't engage at that price point," Woike wrote.

Jones signed a three-year, $68 million extension with the Pelicans in July. Because players cannot be moved within six months of an extension, Jones won't become trade-eligible until Jan. 14.

Jones, a member of the 2023-24 First All-Defensive Team, has averaged 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game for his career across five seasons with the Pelicans.

He recently missed eight games due a right calf strain, but returned to the Pelicans' lineup Monday.

The Lakers are looking for defense after struggling to contain the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday's NBA Cup quarterfinal loss.

Los Angeles got 35 points from Luka Doncic and 19 from LeBron James, but that wasn't enough to match a Spurs team that made 50 percent of its shots from the field and 45 percent from deep.

"Just didn't do a good job of getting back in transition... being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now," head coach JJ Redick told reporters.

Trade rumors have surrounded most of the Pelicans' stars amid the team's league-worst 3-22 start to the season.

NBA insider Jake Fischer said on a recent Bleacher Report livestream last week that some teams felt the Pelicans were starting to "at least show some type of willingness to listen on guys like Herb Jones and Trey Murphy."

As Woike pointed out, however, the Lakers have limited draft capital to offer. The franchise can only trade a single first-round pick from either 2031 or 2032 this season, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

It remains to be seen if one of those picks would be enough to tempt the Pelicans to part ways with their top defender just six months after signing him to a new contract.