New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Teams with the Best Chance to Land Beal

1. New Orleans Pelicans

Of any team that might pursue Beal, New Orleans has the best opportunity to do so, and could assemble one of the scariest teams in the league by pulling off any deal involving Beal. In any trade for Beal, Brandon Ingram and Jrue Holiday would likely be off the table, as well as the obvious Zion Williamson.

If the Pelicans are to make a trade on draft night for Beal, J.J. Redick and Lonzo Ball would almost have to be included in the deal for salary matching purposes. Ball would certainly be a loss as he has improved greatly in his time with New Orleans, but it would be very hard to imagine a team in which Holiday, Beal and Ball could all coexist anyway.

The rest of the compensation from there is a bit trickier to maneuver. The Wizards would not be satisfied with just Redick, Ball and a bunch of late first round picks from the Lakers, so another young player or two would have to be included. The Pelicans could first try and persuade the Wizards to take Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the Lakers picks and their own mid-first round pick this year, but that may not be enough. If not, the Pelicans would likely have to part with Jaxson Hayes or Josh Hart as well in order to get the deal done.

This sounds like a very steep price, but this would leave New Orleans with a starting lineup that would be loaded with Holiday, Beal, Ingram and Williamson alongside a cheap center if Hayes is traded (DeMarcus Cousins?). While that lineup might take a while to click, if its potential is ever realized the team could be a perennial contender.

It’s hard to get a good feel for what the Wizards are trying to do in regards to Beal, as they could be playoff contenders with a healthy Wall and Beal as soon as next year. The Wizards do have a pretty strong young grouping of players after all, one that consists of Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, Troy Brown Jr. and Moritz Wagner as well as role players like Shabazz Napier and Davis Bertans.

However, if the Wizards do punt on the dream of Beal and Wall playing together once more, the Pelicans have a better chance than most teams in the league to land the all-star shooting guard.