New Orleans Pelicans: A bold draft night trade for Bradley Beal

Sending Bradley Beal to the New Orleans Pelicans on draft night is the perfect way for the Washington Wizards to retool their roster

For the Washington Wizards, I think there’s a chance they realize that what happened in the Paul George trade will never happen again. That’s because the Los Angeles Clippers might already be regretting that deal, and other teams won’t get as desperate as they did.

That means they might accept this offer from the Pelicans because it gives them a great way to retool.

Starting with Jrue Holiday, the Wizards instantly get a replacement for Beal who can perform at an All-Star level. This means the Wizards will still have a competitive player to put next to their returning star in John Wall. It’s no secret that Beal and Wall have never liked each other so this combination might be more productive on the court.

Now we factor in Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Walker was one of the Pelicans first-round picks last year, and he’s already shown that with some development he’ll be a devastating combo guard in the NBA for years to come. He could become the Wizards’ franchise player after Holiday and Wall depart.

A great sweetener in this deal is Nicolo Melli. If you watched the Wizards at all this past season, you’d know that they played some of their best ball with Davis Bertans stretching the floor. With Bertans being one of this year’s top free agents, this deal gives the Wizards a cheap replacement for that shooting stroke.

Of course, no deal is complete in the NBA without draft picks, and in this deal, the Wizards would get two. First, they’d add the Pelicans’ 13th pick to their 9th pick on draft night which allows them to draft two lottery players to build a young core. Then they’d receive the Pelicans’ first-round pick in 2022.