Miami Used the Deadline Deal to Cut Its Tax Bill
Miami sent Jarnell Stokes and roughly $700,000 in cash to New Orleans on February 18, 2016, for a top-55-protected 2018 second-round pick. Stokes had appeared in only seven games for the Heat, and the transaction was primarily a salary-and-tax move rather than a basketball upgrade. Contemporary reporting estimated that moving his remaining salary reduced Miami's projected luxury-tax obligation by a little more than $2 million and opened another roster spot.
New Orleans Monetized Its Available Roster Flexibility
The Pelicans did not need Stokes to make the deal worthwhile. They absorbed his minimum contract, received the cash payment and waived him the next day. In practical terms, New Orleans used available roster and salary flexibility to collect cash while giving up a second-round pick that was protected so heavily that it initially had limited expected value. Stokes never played a game for the Pelicans, so the player himself added no on-court return.
The Pick Became Useful Trade Currency for Miami
Miami did not keep the 2018 second-rounder until draft night. In July 2016, the Heat sent that same New Orleans pick plus cash back to the Pelicans for Luke Babbitt. Babbitt then appeared in 68 games for Miami during the 2016-17 season and started 15. The pick eventually became No. 51 in the 2018 draft, where Tony Carr was selected, but by then it had moved through later transactions. For this deal, Miami's clearest realized value was the ability to turn the acquired pick into a rotation shooter.
The Pelicans Won the Small Transaction on Cost
This was a minor deadline move, but the completed accounting favors New Orleans. The Pelicans collected cash, carried Stokes for one day and ultimately reacquired their own protected pick in the later Babbitt trade. Miami achieved an important tax objective and eventually used the pick as trade currency, so the Heat did receive practical value. The canonical A- for New Orleans and C+ for Miami reflects the Pelicans' low-cost use of cap space versus the price Miami paid to shed salary.
Final Verdict
Pelicans Win — New Orleans A-, Miami C+. New Orleans absorbed Stokes, received about $700,000 and waived him the next day, turning spare flexibility into cash without sacrificing a lasting player. Miami cut more than $2 million from its projected luxury-tax bill and later used the protected 2018 second-round pick in the Luke Babbitt trade, so the Heat still accomplished real financial and roster goals. The Pelicans, however, extracted value for taking on a contract they did not intend to keep.