New Orleans Pelicans have enough chips for Bradley Beal sweepstakes

After a big summer of transactions a year ago, the New Orleans Pelicans have the firepower to make a couple more big moves with their arsenal of picks.

The New Orleans Pelicans have a ton of picks, a great core of young players, and a nice group of complementary veterans, but the team has the potential to get even tougher if they decide to use their chips on a superstar like Bradley Beal.

Long rumored to be unhappy with the Washington Wizards even after signing a short-term extension to stay in the nation’s capital last summer, Beal is certainly to be a hot target during the league’s next transaction window.

While current title-contending heavyweights like the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets could all have interest in Beal, the New Orleans Pelicans have one of the best pools of assets in the league.

Owning the rights many of the Lakers’ first-round selections from 2021 through 2025, all of their own future first-rounders, in addition to some double-digit variation of second-round picks (a handful are dependent on future standings), the Pelicans have a ton of draft capital.

The fact that the Pelicans’ pick is likely to fall in the lottery this year could also be beneficial, allowing a team like Washington to grab an additional player to reload their roster.

Further, the Pelicans could really sweeten any deal with a high-ceiling young player like Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaxson Hayes, or Didi Louzada, though the team might be remiss to move any of the above.

The only team that seems capable of making a move with the same level of resources as the Pelicans are the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were loaded with assets from their trading of Paul George to the LA Clippers and Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets.

Just 26-years-old, Beal continues to impress and seems to be hitting his prime, despite the fact that his Wizards went 24-40 before the suspension of the regular season.

This season, Beal posted 30.5 points (second in the NBA), 6.1 assists, and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 35.3% from three on 8.4 attempts per contest.

Beal also posted back-to-back 50-plus point games, scoring 55 points in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and 53 points in a loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Despite his snubbing from this year’s events, Beal is a two-time All-Star and has been a part of some impressive playoff runs with the Wizards.

Owning a lot of the lead ball-handling role this season, Beal’s 3.4 turnovers per game certainly makes for some concern. However, he’s proven a little more valuable off the ball, playing in that role during some impressive seasons next to John Wall.

Last offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans underwent massive organizational upheaval in their organization as a whole, from the front office through the roster, changing the foundation of the team.

This summer, the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to make a decision on what the team wants to do in the short term versus the long term, in other words, when they think they’ll have a title contention window.

Making a trade for someone like Bradley Beal, especially if it comes with a longer-term extension upon his arrival, might not change this team’s destiny next season, but it could lead to some pretty exciting playoff runs in the not-too-distant future.

Forget free agency for the Pelicans, it’s going to be hard for this team to find a way to make the salary cap work to their favor for the foreseeable future.

There are wide expectations that the team’s biggest move of the summer will be a max extension for All-Star forward Brandon Ingram. They’ll have to sign Lonzo Ball and potentially Jrue Holiday to new deals sometime between this offseason and next summer. Plus, they’ll eventually have to sign Zion Williamson to a maximum extension… and that’s just the “key” group of players.

Adding Bradley Beal would be a big statement from the New Orleans Pelicans’ front office, signaling their belief in this team’s ability to make noise in the Western Conference as soon as the 2020-2021 NBA Season.

However, the team could certainly hold on to their chips should a more tantalizing player becomes available on the trade market. After all, the next NBA superstar domino always seems to fall in due time.

Certainly owning the assets, but perhaps not the desire to make a move, Bradley Beal would make the New Orleans Pelicans a better team. If the front office, however, feels like Beal opens a championship window, they could be compelled to make that big move.