Pelicans, Sixers Finalize Trade

The Pelicans and Sixers have officially announced their swap involving Jrue Holiday and Nerlens Noel, a trade that was agreed upon on draft night but held up until after the July Moratorium. The Pelicans bring aboard Holiday and Pierre Jackson, the 42nd pick in last month's draft, in exchange for Noel and a 2014 first-round draft choice. The 2014 pick will remain with the Pelicans if it falls in the top five. 

The delay in finalizing the trade stemmed from the Pelicans' inability to absorb Holiday's $9,213,484 salary until the NBA's calendar flipped over to 2013/14 this month, and the newlywed Holiday's honeymoon caused a further holdup. The 23-year-old point guard is now finally entrenched in New Orleans, where he'll begin drawing paychecks from the four-year, $41MM extension he signed last October with the Sixers a few months before making his first All-Star appearance.

Noel, who seemed the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 pick last month, heads to Philadelphia after slipping to the No. 6 spot in the draft. The 7'0" center from Kentucky will miss the first part of the season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in his only collegiate season. The 5'10" Jackson, the other 2013 draftee involved in the swap, heads to New Orleans after distinguishing himself as a point guard at Baylor.

That protection attached to the 2014 first-rounder extends in perpetuity, so if the Pelicans wind up with a string of top-five picks over the next few years, they won't have to give them up, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. For additional details about the swap, see our post about the initial agreement.