New Orleans Pelicans: How the James Harden trade helps the Pels

James Harden was moved in a megadeal that could have ripple effects on the New Orleans Pelicans.

The New Orleans Pelicans weren’t involved in the James Harden trade but it will still have an effect.

The guard was moved in a deal that involved a whole lot of pieces and picks and four teams, but eventually, he ended up on the Nets with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

The bad news is that there is a new superteam in town, but the good news is that it is in the Eastern Conference, far away from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Here is how the Harden deal will ultimately affect the Pelicans in the division and in future trades.

New Orleans Pelicans: Harden trade makes Bradley Beal more likely

There are two main ways this trade will affect the Pelicans.

The first is that it takes one of the best players in the NBA out of the Pels’ division. The Southwest looked like one of the toughest divisions in basketball coming into this season, with every team trying to make the playoffs.

Removing one of the top players makes things slightly easier on the Pelicans, though there is no counting Houston out, as they have some nice pieces and could go on a run just to spite their former star.

Hopefully, Harden’s departure will mean the Rockets aren’t as good. We’ll see.

The real benefit though could relate to the possibility of trading for Bradley Beal. The Nets have been trying to add a third star since they acquired Kyrie and Durant and now they have one in Harden.

This means one less team for the Pels to compete against for Beal, who is the league’s hottest trade target now that Harden has been dealt.

With the Nets out of the way, there aren’t many other teams who could offer the Pels’ combination of young players and draft picks if they do decide to go after Beal.

I am glad to see James Harden out of the division, especially if it could help the chances for the Pelicans to land a star of their own.