The New Orleans Pelicans are going to be at the center of NBA trade rumors until the trade deadline.
Shams Charania reported that the Pels are already getting calls about Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick, who are the most likely to be traded.
The Pelicans, viewed as a key team in NBA trade market, are receiving calls on Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick from interested teams and have shown openness to discussing both, per sources.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 26, 2021
More in latest Inside Pass at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/KpLWLLTMZ3
We all knew this was going to happen at some point, as both Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick are in the final years of their deals and would likely net assets for the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade.
Lonzo can’t be too happy with his role or numbers at the moment, so there is no guarantee that he is going to re-sign with the Pelicans or that they would even be interested.
Lonzo Ball is a marquee name, and though he has not played well this season, he’s shown enough to intrigue teams that may want to add a big name to their roster.
Here are three teams who need to trade for Lonzo Ball.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trading Lonzo Ball to the Knicks
The New York Knicks
We wrote about a potential Lonzo trade to New York and it makes sense.
They could use a pass-first point guard and have the necessary assets to get him.
New York is sitting in the 8th seed and would love to make the playoffs. They would also like to add a player that someone outside of New York has actually heard of.
The Knicks are short on star power and even though Lonzo Ball has not played like a star, he has the fans of one and would instantly bring them to the Knicks.
The question is whether the Knicks would be willing to deal one of their young players to get him. Kevin Knox and a 1st-rounder would work for the New Orleans Pelicans.