New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels could trade Lonzo Ball for Cam Reddish

New Orleans Pelicans: Finding the right trade deal

Naturally, there is some guesswork involved, but it should be relatively easy on paper to arrange a trade involving Lonzo Ball for Cameron Reddish.

It helps that it seems like both teams are interested. The Atlanta Hawks are currently fourth in the eastern conference, but a move for Ball would further shore up their backcourt while putting a defensive presence next to Trae Young.

The New Orleans Pelicans would get an interesting young player in exchange for someone who could leave for nothing in the summer, while also gaining a degree of financial flexibility in not having to match the offers Ball will receive. Teams like the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, or even the Hawks themselves might be willing to give Ball more money than the Pels are comfortable with, for instance.

A straightforward trade involving Ball and Reddish could look like this. The Pelicans get an interesting young place—Redish is only in his second NBA season and is only 21-years-old—while the Hawks get a complementary guard to further propel their Eastern Conference push. The Hawks are currently fourth in the east and getting Ball now might give them the advantage when he hits restricted free agency.

In the process, the Pels would relieve some cap space ahead of further roster moves in the summer. One of Solomon Hill or Kris Dunn is included in this deal for financial matters. The Hawks’ cap would be impacted by around $4 million, but I reckon they would not feel too aggrieved.

Personally, I would prefer Kris Dunn but Solomon Hill seems like the most viable option. He will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and the Hawks might feel like they’re already giving up enough with Reddish when they have no guarantees that Ball would stay past the upcoming offseason.

Hill is a steady veteran who would principally be a good locker room addition. He has deep playoff experience going back to last season with the Miami Heat. Plus, if Hill plays well, it serves as an audition to be a 15-20 minute bench guy for the Pelicans. Hill is unlikely to demand much money for next season. This year, he was only on a $2.1 million deal.

The reason why I prefer Dunn is because I think he’d be a better fit for the ethos of Stan Van Gundy’s New Orleans team. Because Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are the team’s franchise stars, they are also the team’s main creators. The ball goes through their hands most of the time. That leaves the Pelicans in a unique situation where it’s their 3 and 4 creating and their 1 and 2 shooting threes and playing defense.

Assuming the Pels want to maintain the offensive blueprint that has been followed over the first half of the season, then Dunn slots into one of the backcourt spots. The fact that he isn’t a traditional point guard has often been held against Dunn in terms of playmaking and creation on attack, but his role on offense would be simplified in New Orleans and he’d only have to focus on defense.

However, Dunn is still a downgrade on Ball, primarily because of the shooting. Dunn, who is currently out with an ankle injury, shot just 26 percent from deep for the Chicago Bulls last season. He only took about two threes per game. Both of those marks represent a severe decline from where Lonzo Ball is right now.

But at the same time, Dunn would have a similar effect as Ball on defense. The former Providence standout is a sturdy presence on that end of the floor. Dunn would likely become the Pels’ best defender right off the bat.