Halo

Regardless of whether his heart has shifted from Phoenix to the bayou, Eric Gordon might not spend too much more time as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Sporting News' Sean Deveney reports that the team currently rostering the overpaid 2-guard is now actively shopping him:

A little more than two years after acquiring him, and 18 months after matching a four-year, $58 million offer sheet from Phoenix, the Pelicans remain active in their pursuit of trading guard Eric Gordon, league sources told Sporting News this week. New Orleans has made contact with several teams about Gordon, even devising three-team scenarios in order to find him a new home.

It's not that Gordon has been playing unacceptably bad basketball. In fact, he's averaging 16.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists during his second season with the New Orleans-based franchise.

But Gordon isn't what the Pelicans need, especially because Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans are also present in the backcourt. Instead, the team could use some frontcourt help to make Anthony Davis' job easier, or it could start planning for the future.

Holiday's fractured ankle, as reported by the Pelicans themselves, will knock him out indefinitely. This latest injury—especially during a season full of a never-ending stream of maladies—essentially feels like the knockout blow in 2013-14, as NOLA should no longer be able to climb into the postseason picture in the difficult Western Conference.

As a result, the Pelicans aren't limited to finding frontcourt help. Expiring deals, ones that will help them find that big man next offseason, are quite valuable as well.

Fortunately, there are plenty of teams out there who could use a player like Gordon. Seven of them, in fact, and they're ranked in terms of the overall merits of the potential trade.

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