{Our first reader contribution discussing their off-season expectations for the New Orleans Pelicans by ad23mvp - Oleh}

I know a lot of us are thinking that no major moves will be made this offseason. I understand the logic behind it and why it makes sense, but I tend to disagree. I feel like every year, I have an idea of what will happen in the offseason; but what I think will happen never does. So I decided to look at the past to predict the future, and here's what it tells us.

2010-2011:
Less than 2 months on the job, New Orleans trades for Trevor Ariza.

2011-2012:
Chris Paul trade

2012-2013:
Sign and trade for Ryan Anderson

2013-2014:
Jrue Holiday trade
Sign and trade for Tyreke Evans

2014-2015:
Omer Asik trade

So, Demps has made a big move at least once every off-season and also a bunch of smaller moves (as we all know). How does this pertain to this off-season?

Well, I know a lot of you probably think Dell is done building this team for now and will let it play out. However, one thing to remember is that he always says anything is possible if a deal presents itself. A deal always seems to present itself to Dell and I fully expect one to present itself this off-season. He's not satisfied with the current roster, and I don't think he's sitting there thinking that we can just wait until next off-season to make a move.

With that being said, I expect something to happen, whether it's a trade for a draft pick, or a straight-up trade, an S&T, or a FA signing.

Personally, I think the most likely route for Dell to take is via draft. It's probably the cheapest route because to acquire a pick between 18-22, he would likely only need to give up a future 1st and cash, and he has shown a willingness to do that.

The reason I think Dell would like the draft is that it is easiest for prospects to succeed when they are only given a specific role and not asked to do much at first. For instance, when the San Antonio Spurs traded George Hill for Kawhi Leonard, they felt like Kawhi could come in and focus in on 1 or 2 aspects of his game because the rest of the team was in place and he didn't have to do much. As he has gained more experience, he has been asked to do more.

So, in this draft I could see Dell going after a player with talent with the idea that the player he acquires won't have too much on his plate and can focus on only a few things and expand his game as he develops.