The New Orleans Pelicans could pursue one of these stars during Zion Williamson’s rookie deal.
The New Orleans Pelicans are in an interesting position. On one hand, they have young talent that will take patience to develop.
On the other, they have a potential generational superstar Zion Williamson who is on a value contract, so forget patience, they should go for it now.
I tend to fall into the second camp. There are too many things that could go wrong, so the Pels should push in their chips and go for a title during Zion’s rookie deal.
The Pels have ample draft capital to make a trade for just about anyone and still have draft picks leftover, so they wouldn’t have to sacrifice the future in order to trade for another star.
They should avoid anyone whose deal runs longer than 2022-23, which is the final year of Zion Willamson’s contract.
Here are four guys that the Pels could realistically get without trading away all of their picks or taking on money that runs past Zion’s. Getting a player like this is how the Pels speed up their timeline, get deep into the playoffs and ensure Zion wants to stay for the long term.
New Orleans Pelicans: Stars whose contracts fit with Zion Williamson-Kevin Love
Kevin Love
The Cavaliers have some interesting talent, most of which are in their early 20’s, so Kevin Love doesn’t really fit their timeline if, in fact, they have one.
Andre Drummond just opted into his massive deal (shocker) so the Cavs would probably love to get rid of Love’s contract in exchange for some cap space and young talent.
Love was disgruntled last year and was clearly fed up playing with mostly teenagers who don’t know how to play or where to be.
The New Orleans Pelicans might be able to pry Love away for the cost of a player and a few draft picks. They’d likely have to get near the tax to do it, but Love would be a nice fit as a small-ball center with ZIon or as a stretch-four.
New Orleans Pelicans: John Wall or Bradley Beal could be had in a trade
Washington Wizards
John Wall
John Wall is coming back off injury and it seems like he hasn’t played in about seven years.
There is no telling where he’ll be physically and the Wizards may try to just run with the team they have if Wall is healthy. If he’s not, no one is going to trade for him anyway, so either way, the Wizards are hoping he is 100 percent.
Wall has a contract that is one of the worst in the NBA, so the Wizards might actually give up assets to move it. Currently, Wall is not really a fit on the Pels, as they already have plenty of point guard talent, but if they were to move one of them?
Prime Wall was a destructive force on the fast break and would be a handful with Zion, but it would be a super risky move unless the Wizards ate some of his salary or included assets.
Bradley Beal
Beal is a much more likely trade target for the Pelicans, as the Pels were rumored to have interest at the deadline last year.
The Wizards have been adamant that they are not trading Beal, but everyone has a price.
The Pelicans are one of the few teams who have the necessary assets to get a guy like Beal, and they could just offer up Lonzo Ball and like five first-round draft picks to do it.
Beal would be the perfect age and position for the Pels, is a bonified star and would make this team an absolute force on offense.
Beal is the type of player the Pels should target while Zion is still a rookie.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels should trade for James Harden
James Harden
The Pelicans are one of the only teams in the league with the assets to trade for a former MVP and there happens to be one available in James Harden.
Harden reportedly wants out of Houston and has been angling for a trade to the Brooklyn Nets, who do not have the assets the Rockets are looking for in a trade of their superstar.
The Pelicans do.
The article above outlines a trade that might be able to land Harden, who is still one of the top-five players in the league and would make the Pels an instant contender.
If the Pelicans traded for Harden now, they would be contenders for the entirety of Zion Willamson’s rookie deal without jeopardizing the ability to re-sign him.
They’d still have draft picks in nearly every draft, so they could keep plugging young talent into the roster even as they were winning.
If the Pelicans want to have Zion Williamson for his entire career, then they should commit to winning now while he is on a team-friendly deal.
Before long, Zion will be making $35 million a year himself and there won’t be room for another star. The Pels have a unique opportunity with Zion and they should take advantage of it.