The NBA trade deadline is just three days away and the New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of decisions to make. Now that the team has a 13-38 record, the front office will have to decide whether to be a seller, a buyer or a father. Whichever path the Pelicans choose, however, Saddiq Bey has made it clear he deserves to stay.
All season long, Bey has been a consistent, mostly healthy scoring punch in the team’s starting five. While his averages of 16.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game were impressive for a player who was widely considered a throw-in when the Pelicans acquired him, his play has been on another level lately.
Over his last five games, Bey is averaging 26.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while also shooting an impressive 50 percent from three.
While the Pelicans could sell high at the deadline, this level of production could be difficult to find, making retaining him through February 5 crucial.
Why Saddiq Bey fits into the Pelicans’ timeline
With the Pelicans in something of a rebuilding/retooling situation, it’s time for them to join one of the league’s most successful trends: not hitting rock bottom and surrounding their young players with talent to help them develop. This season we saw the Nets do it with Michael Porter Jr., and the Wizards acquired Trae Young in hopes of doing the same. While Bey isn’t an All-Star caliber player, his skill set still allows him to have a similar impact on a young core as Porter Jr. and Young.
Bey is a well-rounded wing who can dribble, pass, shoot and defend, making him a natural complement to the franchise’s two main building blocks, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.
With Bey under contract for two more seasons after the 2025-2026 season at a friendly price of $6.33 million per year, this gives the front office all the more reason to keep him.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Pelicans’ priority should be to free up space for the growth of their young core, not part with players who actively support that core. Saddiq Bey’s production, versatility and team-friendly contract make him an ideal bridge player to connect the present and the future. Trading him now would leave a hole that New Orleans would struggle to fill for years. In a season full of uncertainty, Bey has provided certainty, and that alone should be enough for the Pelicans to keep him past February 5.
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