New Orleans Sold the Twenty-Seventh Pick for Cash
The New Orleans Hornets used the twenty-seventh selection of the 2008 NBA draft on Kansas forward Darrell Arthur but did not plan to keep his rights. On June 26, New Orleans sold that draft asset to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash. The sale offered immediate financial value rather than a prospect the Hornets would develop, and it did not transfer an existing roster player in the ordinary sense. New Orleans's use of the selection happened as the franchise was coming off a strong Western Conference season. The current database calls the club the Pelicans, although the 2008 transaction belonged to the Hornets.
Portland Immediately Moved Arthur's Rights Again
Arthur's rights did not stay in Portland long enough to become an NBA playing contribution. On the same draft night, Portland joined a three-team agreement involving Houston and Memphis. The Blazers sent Arthur's rights to the Grizzlies and Joey Dorsey's rights to the Rockets, while Houston sent the rights to Nicolas Batum to Portland. Memphis supplied other draft rights and a future second to Houston as part of the larger transaction. The chain matters because Arthur was not literally traded for Batum in a standalone two-team agreement. Portland needed the multi-party structure and other assets to end up with the player it wanted.
Neither Original Buyer nor Seller Got Arthur's Playing Minutes
Arthur went on to a substantial NBA career, principally with Memphis and Denver. He did not provide regular-season games for either the Trail Blazers or the Hornets through this first rights sale. New Orleans instead realized financial consideration; the amount should not be invented in the absence of a verified figure. Portland's reward was the ability to deploy a draft-rights asset immediately toward another prospect. Batum later became an important Portland wing, but that fact is a downstream result of a different transaction containing multiple additional pieces, not a direct player transfer from New Orleans in the cash sale.
The Draft Rights Had More Utility for the Buyer
New Orleans obtained cash for a pick it had chosen to monetize rather than retain, making its return real but limited. Portland received draft rights that could immediately be used in a more ambitious exchange, helping the club reorganize its draft-night portfolio. Giving Portland every minute Batum eventually played without accounting for the three-team deal would overstate this original purchase. Giving New Orleans an automatic failure because it received no roster player would ignore the purpose of the cash sale. The Blazers nonetheless hold the stronger asset-utility result, justifying an advantage grounded in the short draft-night chain rather than imagined Arthur appearances.
Final Verdict
Blazers Win. Portland earns B+ because the Darrell Arthur rights purchased from New Orleans became one useful component of its same-night multi-team deal that delivered Nicolas Batum's rights. The New Orleans Hornets receive C for cash consideration with no incoming player. Arthur never supplied games to either original participant. Batum's subsequent NBA contribution belonged to Portland's distinct three-team agreement and cannot be credited solely to the cash sale.