New Orleans Pelicans: Ranking the top 5 hypothetical NBA Draft trades

New Orleans Pelicans: NBA Draft trade with the Charlotte Hornets

#5: The Risky Trade Swap

The Charlotte Hornets are an interesting team on draft day. They have three young pieces to build around in PJ Washington, Devonte’ Graham and Miles Bridges, but they also have some of the worst contracts in the NBA.

Luckily for them, Bismack Biyombo’s contract is finally up and they only have one more year of Nicolas Batum and Cody Zeller. The Hornets will have plenty of cap space, so if they wanted to use their pick to get an asset, they could very well be a playoff team if they make the right moves in free agency.

Here is a trade that gets both teams something they need:

The Hornets get a young center to add to their core and stay in the lottery, while the Pelicans get a veteran big man to add some depth and a chance to add impact talent with the #3 pick.

Obviously, the Pelicans would only do this if they really liked someone at #3, as Hayes showed promise in his rookie season. The Pels would also be picking up some future cap space, as Zeller only has one more year.

This would allow them to grab a big like James Wiseman or Onyeka Okongwu with the third pick and give them four young players to build around without disrupting the core.

This one would have some risk, as the Pels would be betting that the third pick would eventually be better than Jaxson Hayes or at least be a better fit on the roster.