The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to engage the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks on trade talks this offseason as they look to upgrade their lead guard position. 

The Hawks are expected to trade either Trae Young or Dejounte Murray this offseason, while the Cavaliers could also entertain offers on Darius Garland if they sign Donovan Mitchell to an extension. 

The Pelicans engaged both the Cavaliers and Hawks ahead of the February deadline. 

Zion Williamson had interest in joining Trae Young with the Hawks ahead of the lottery in 2019 and there could be mutual interest in playing together now with the Pelicans. 

Jonas Valanciunas is expected to receive contract offers at around the $12.9 million mid-level exception this summer, league executives told Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.

The 32-year-old free agent averaged 12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds last season.

Valanciunas is not expected to return to the Pelicans. 

The Detroit Pistons are in serious talks to hire Michael Blackstone as the No. 2 decision-maker of the front office under Trajan Langdon. 

Blackstone has served as the New Orleans Pelicans’ VP of basketball administration over the last several seasons where he worked alongside Langdon. Before the Pelicans, Blackstone worked as an assistant general manager with the Atlanta Hawks and executive director of basketball operations with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The Pistons parted ways with Troy Weaver this week. Weaver had years remaining on his contract and was offered an off-site scouting role to remain with the franchise in a smaller capacity. 

The New Orleans Pelicans will defer the first round pick they are owed from the Los Angeles Lakers from the 2024 draft to the 2025 edition. The Lakers own the 17th overall pick in what is widely considered a down draft, whereas the 2025 draft is expected to be strong. There are also a number of potential scenarios where the Lakers end up sending the Pelicans a higher pick in 2025.

The Lakers traded three future first round picks to the Pelicans in 2019 as part of the Anthony Davis trade.

David Griffin informed Rob Pelinka of his decision on Friday, one day ahead of the deadline.

The Pelicans own the No. 21 pick in the draft.

The Golden State Warriors are expected to express interest in trading for Jimmy Butler should he become available, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. 

Butler is interested in a two-year extension this offseason, which the Miami Heat are believed to be resistant to offering.

Brandon Ingram, however, is not a potential trade target that the Warriors would expected to be interested in pursuing. There has been considerable speculation that the New Orleans Pelicans will entertain trading Ingram as they balance out their roster and salary cap.

James Borrego had a second interview with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Borrego is also a candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers' head coaching vacancy.

Borrego has a strong reputation for player development including serving as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs for a decade. Borrego also has head coaching experience with the Charlotte Hornets.

Borrego is currently an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are beginning their interview process for head coach with Kenny Atkinson and James Borrego, who are the top two candidates on their list.

Atkinson and Borrego are both top assistant coaches with previous head coaching experience.

Atkinson was previously a head coach with the Brooklyn Nets and is currently an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. 

Borrego is also a serious candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching vacancy. Borrego was previously head coach of the Charlotte Hornets and now is an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Cavaliers plan on interviewing additional candidates beyond Atkinson and Borrego. 

The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly looking to upgrade their guard rotation. The Pelicans are looking at trading for a point guard. The team is expected to resume trade talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers, after discussing deals ahead of the trade deadline.

The Pelicans target is reportedly Darius Garland. It's been reported that Garland will seek a trade from the Cavaliers if the team extends Donovan Mitchell. It's likely that a New Orleans offer for the veteran guard would involve Brandon Ingram and his $36 million expiring contract.

Garland has four years and $163.2 million left on his contract. The deal is fully guaranteed with no options, with $36.7 million owed in 2024-25.

The New Orleans Pelicans had trade talks with the Atlanta Hawks for both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young ahead of the trade deadline. Those talks are expected to resume this summer.

While New Orleans has interest in both Hawks point guards, sources indicate that the Pelicans prefer to swing a deal for Murray. Murray has a more team-friendly contract, and he's a better defender than Young is.

Some have suggested that New Orleans star Zion Williamson would like to play with Young. The star guard's father even went on social media making a similar suggest that Young and Williamson would like to play together.

On the latest episode of The Lowe Post podcast, ESPN's Zach Lowe talked about teams that could be interested in trading for Donovan Mitchell. If Mitchell declines an extension, the thought is that the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to trade him before free agency in the summer of 2025.

Teams expected to be interested include the usual suspects like the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets. The has been some speculation that the Houston Rockets could also join that group. Lowe added the New Orleans Pelicans as a team to watch, should Mitchell hit the trade market.

New Orleans has hit a bit of a crossroads. Brandon Ingram has one year left on his contract. He's extension-eligible and could be looking for a max deal. The Cavs don't have a player with Ingram's skill/size combo at the forward spot. The Pelicans don't have a scoring guard quite like Mitchell, but do have some forward depth. That could make the two teams natural trade partners.