The New Orleans Pelicans officially announced the acquisition of guard Eric Bledsoe and center Steven Adams Tuesday.
The veterans will join New Orleans as part of a four-team trade with the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Oklahoma City Thunder that sent former NBA All-Star Jrue Holiday to the Bucks.
In addition to Adams and Bledsoe, the Pelicans received two future first round draft picks from Milwaukee as well as the right to swap two additional future first round picks with the Bucks.
Milwaukee received Holiday and the draft rights to Sam Merrill, the 60th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft while Denver acquired the draft rights to R.J. Hampton, the 24th overall pick. Oklahoma City got a future first-round pick from Denver along with George Hill and Pelicans players Zylan Cheatham, Josh Gray, Darius Miller and Kenrich Williams as well as two second round draft picks from New Orleans.
“Jrue Holiday’s contributions to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region, both on and off the floor, serve as shining examples to everyone in our Pelicans family,” Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said in a new release. “They are a statement of what we want to represent and, frankly, what we have to live up to moving forward. He and his wife Lauren have worked tirelessly to affect the quality of life of those around them and we are honored to have been a part of their journey. We are also thankful for the positive impact that Darius, Kenrich, Josh and Zylan have had on our organization and we wish them nothing but success in their future efforts.”
Adams, a 7-foot, 265-pound center, has spent his seven-year career in Oklahoma City, posting career averages of 9.8 points on 59 percent shooting to go with 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocks. The New Zealand native averaged 10.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per game last season.
Bledsoe, a 6-foot-1, 214-pound guard, posted 14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game last season and is coming off back-to-back seasons with NBA All-Defensive Team honors after being named to the First Team in 2019 and Second Team in 2020.
“Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe are not only fiercely competitive and driven to succeed at the highest levels, they are proven winners with a team-first mentality,” Griffin said. “As we continue to build towards the sustainable success our ownership demands and our fans so richly deserve, we are grateful to be able to do so with such high-quality teammates and human beings.”
