New Orleans Pelicans Rumors: A trade for Kelly Oubre Jr. could happen

The New Orleans Pelicans can offer a couple of different trade packages for Kelly Oubre Jr.

The Golden State Warriors are in a tough position cap-wise, so every deal for Oubre would have to feature a direct swap with matching salaries. Ironically, the two players that the Pelicans are trying to offload fit that salary perfectly. It’s just a matter of what deal the Warriors want to make.

Here’s the first one:

This deal would see the Warriors essentially get a knockoff, Klay Thompson, in the veteran J.J. Redick as well as a protected 1st round pick which helps the Warriors continue to build for the future. It’s a safe deal, but they might opt for this one with more upside:

This deal would see the Warriors receive Lonzo Ball, and that’s where things get interesting. Lonzo Ball could play point guard for the Warriors and allow Stephen Curry to play shooting guard in Thompson’s absence, or Curry could continue playing the point while Ball plays a ball-handling shooting guard. Either way, this deal would give the Warriors a solid defender in Lonzo Ball who would benefit from playing in Steve Kerr’s uptempo system.

In return, the Pelicans massively boost their depth on the wings with Oubre who could bounceback by playing in the role he had in Phoenix last year. A cutting-shooting wing. This would allow the Pelicans to get more flexible with their guards, and give Brandon Ingram some coverage on the wing. I think Oubre’s shooting would return to form too, and the Pelicans could become a much better spacing team.

Overall, this is a win-win move the New Orleans Pelicans should continue to pursue, especially if they want to turn the season around.