Pelicans: 3 team trade with Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks

New Orleans Pelicans: Benefits of trading Jrue Holiday to the Golden State Warriors

In this trade, the Pelicans are able to unload Holiday for two useful players that fill needs, get the second pick in the draft and nab a future pick that might be just as valuable.

Getting back two players like Taj Gibson and Julius Randle may not seem like the ideal haul, but the Pels would also be getting two very valuable picks.

Gibson is 35-years-old and the Knicks would have to pick up his option to make this work, so he is not an ideal piece. However, he is still a serviceable big who can defend multiple spots and gives the Pelicans some veteran toughness and depth off the bench, which they lack.

Randle is a beast in the post but doesn’t do much else, so he is somewhat redundant with Zion, but would add scoring punch off the bench and could even be a part of small ball lineups with Zion. In his one season with the Pelicans, Randle shot 34.4 percent from 3-point range on 2.7 attempts per game, so there is a chance he will be able to stretch the floor.

Randle adds some size and toughness to a team that desperately needs it and gives them a legit and consistent scoring option off the bench. He is also good insurance against another Zion Williamson injury, which obviously cannot be ruled out or taken lightly.

With the #2 pick the Pelicans could go a lot of directions, either uniting the Ball Brothers or taking a guy like James Wiseman, who would shore up the defense and give them their center of the future.

Both Gibson and Randle only have one more year on their contracts, so the Pelicans would be getting a massive amount of cap space in 2021, just in time to sign an impact free agent.

The real kicker is the future pick, as the Pelicans could sneakily grab another first-rounder from Golden State, who has Minnesota’s pick next year which is top-3 protected.

Minnesota probably won’t be good for a while, so this could end up being a top-ten pick for the Pelicans in a stronger draft.

Two useful players and two top-ten draft picks is a good haul for Holiday, not to mention the gobs of future cap space they can use to retain Lonzo and Zion, plus add another big free agent.

If the New Orleans Pelicans got this call they’d at least have to listen, as it gives them assets to help win now and in the future while clearing up a lot of money.