Pelicans could pursue suddenly available Dennis Schroder

Alvin Gentry needs a point guard to push the pace in his offense. So far the only New Orleans Pelicans point guard to truly fit the bill was the recently traded Ish Smith. Rumors, thanks to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix of The Vertical, are now swirling around two Atlanta Hawks point guards.

Both Jeff Teague (27) and Dennis Schroder (22) are under contract through the 2016-17 season. As Peachtree Hoops points out given Schroder will be a restricted free agent while Teague will be unrestricted it is possible the Hawks would give the keys to the younger man going forward. Mannix reports that while both guards are on the market Atlanta has focused its attention more on dealing the older Teague. You can hear both Wojnarowski and Mannix discuss the situation on a recent podcast.

As @WojVerticalNBA and I discuss on his podcast: Keep an eye on Atlanta before the trade deadline. Hawks been discussing Jeff Teague w/teams

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) January 27, 2016

Hawks had been soliciting offers for Teague or Dennis Schroder, per rival execs. Though recently they have focused more on Teague.

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) January 27, 2016

What might this mean to the Pelicans? Either Teague or Schroder fit into the "young veterans" history established by Dell Demps in trades or sign-and-trades for Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday, and Tyreke Evans. Schroder is obviously be a better long term piece to acquire since he would remain on a rookie contract for a season and a half before entering restricted free agency.

The Pelicans 2016 first round draft pick is currently pretty valuable and it would hold to form for Demps to trade it rather than be patient building this team. Before some ask in the comments I'm sure you would rather attach a pile of second round picks instead, but the Hawks aren't accepting that offer. The primary negotiation, if the below trade was probable, is the protections on the first round pick New Orleans would send to Atlanta.

New Orleans Pelicans also send 2016 First Round Pick (Protections TBD) to Atlanta Hawks

The contracts beyond Schroder just make the dollars match. Justin Holiday, older brother to Jrue, has hardly played for the Hawks this season (260 minutes) including healthy scratches in the last four games. Norris Cole, since he signed his qualifying offer, would need to consent to the trade. This trade is functionally Schroder for the Pelicans 2016 First Round Pick. Judging by picks previously traded by Dell Demps protections would be limited to 1-3 as they were for the 2014 pick sent to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jrue Holiday and the 2015 pick sent to the Houston Rockets for Omer Asik.

Is that enough for the Hawks? I don't know. I do know that another writer here, Joseph Billiot (who you should follow on Twitter) would be head over heels for the trade. What say you?