How to breathe some life into the New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans: It might be time to make a trade

Another way to get this team going is to shake things up with a trade.

Lonzo Ball has long been mentioned in trade rumors, but just about anyone not named Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram or Kira Lewis Jr. should be on the table.

Personally, I am not ready to say Lonzo Ball should be traded and I think the Pels would be foolish to sell low on a guy who still isn’t near his ceiling as a player.

But if they can trade Bledsoe, Redick, Melli, Hayes or anyone else they should go for it, even if it means taking back players who have a lower “ceiling” but actually play hard.

The Pels have drafted for “ceiling” the last few seasons and it shows, as they have guys like Jaxson Hayes who can fill up a highlight reel but does not know how to play basketball.

If they can move Bledsoe for someone who plays hard 100 percent of the time, they should, even if the player is not as talented.

The New Orleans Pelicans are finding out the hard way that talent is not everything and it takes effort, defense and chemistry to win in the NBA.

It might be time to make a trade to try and inject some energy and life into this team’s defense. Stan Van Gundy has to shoulder some of the blame for the slow start, but a lot of it is roster construction and players not giving effort, which is not his fault.

The New Orleans Pelicans need to change course fast or they are going to be back in the lottery, which may not be the worst thing.

But if they are going to lose, I’d at least like to see them go down fighting instead of whatever this is.