Pelicans: Why LaVar is wrong about the Lonzo Ball trade rumors

No matter how well Lonzo Ball plays for the New Orleans Pelicans, the trade rumors just won’t seem to die.

Even though he has shown he can be effective with Zion Williamson and has professed his desire to play together long term, the rumor mill has continued to do its thing.

This wasn’t helped by LaVar Ball, Lonzo’s outspoken and quite frankly, silly, father, who poured more gasoline on the fire by claiming that Lonzo needs to be traded out of New Orleans to a team that will better use his skillset.

Look, we all know LaVar Ball is a clown who loves to stir things up and is probably just on a mission to create more of a bidding war for his son, so I don’t hold his opinion against him, but he is probably wrong when it comes to where Lonzo will end up.

Forget the rumors, Lonzo Ball is unlikely to be traded from the New Orleans Pelicans. Here is why.

New Orleans Pelicans are not going to trade Lonzo Ball

Lonzo Ball is on the final year of his contract and set to be a restricted free agent. He is also the Pels’ best trade chip so it makes sense that he would be involved in rumors.

But the Pelicans need talent and lots of it, so they can’t be giving it away for what would likely be a low return given his current and future contract status. No team is going to give fair value for a half season of Lonzo when it is possible he could still leave for another team anyway.

The other reason is that Lonzo would have to leave a substantial amount of money on the table if he truly wants to join another team.

The Pelicans can offer an extra year on his contract, which in itself might be enough to keep Lonzo in the Big Easy, though money may not end up being the primary motivating factor since he is already loaded and makes a ton from his off-the-court endeavors.

The third reason is that Lonzo is not stupid. Yes, he might be able to go and have a different and bigger role on another team but he’d be crazy not to attach himself to Zion Williamson, who looks like a generational superstar and a guy whose future teams should be good.

He has a chance to grow and improve with a guy who could be the best player of his generation. If Lonzo truly wants to be a winner, which I think he does, then it makes sense to stay with two guys who are close to his age and just keep getting better.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ roster is a mess, but the Lonzo/Zion pairing can still work and Lonzo is smart enough to know that.

Of course if the Pels decide that Lonzo is not part of the future then he could still be moved at the deadline, but I don’t see it happening. If not, he’s likely to just stay in New Orleans, so let’s ignore the circus and see how it plays out.