Is Cam Reddish on the New Orleans Pelicans’ radar?

The New Orleans Pelicans will reportedly be buyers at the trade deadline, but who they are going to target is still a mystery.

The Pels are clinging to the idea of making the play-in and Zion Williamson returning, two things that are long shot possibilities but not completely unrealistic.

They would love to add some talent, as the Pels’ bench is horrible and they need more quality depth if they are going to compete in the Western Conference for real.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Atlanta Hawks have a guy in Cam Reddish who might make some sense for the New Orleans Pelicans to pursue:

Reddish is having the best season of his career and would give the Pels another young player with size on the wing, a guy who is shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range and can defend.

But do they have the pieces to make it happen?

Why a trade of Cam Reddish to the New Orleans Pelicans makes sense

There is a lot to like about Reddish as an up-and-coming wing player. The Hawks already have a lot of young talent on the wing and may not be eager to play Reddish the salary he will likely command, making him available.

Reddish is the former Duke teammate of Zion Williamson, who would undoubtedly welcome his friend into the fold, which may help keep him happy for the long term, something the Pelicans seem determined to do.

I also like Reddish “types” around Zion and Brandon Ingram he is long, can shoot the 3-point shot and is pretty versatile defensively.

But there are a lot of problems with making a trade like this work.

Trading for Cam Reddish won’t be easy

One of the reasons the Hawks would want to trade Reddish is because they have a logjam on the wing and don’t have minutes for everyone.

They reportedly want to do a 2-for-1 deal to bring back an impact player, so who exactly is that on the Pelicans?

The Pels aren’t going to move Brandon Ingram in a deal like this, and outside of him, I don’t know if there is a guy the Hawks would really want. Josh Hart would be one possibility, but swapping him for Reddish seems like a lateral move for both teams.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes don’t really move the needle for the Hawks and don’t help their minutes’ crunch. The Pelicans could pile on a bunch of draft picks but then they risk overpaying for Reddish, who is still largely unproven and will be looking for a big raise after next season.

I’m perfectly ok trading NAW and Hayes, but I am not sure the Hawks would have any interest whatsoever.

If the New Orleans Pelicans want Cam Reddish, they would likely have to involve a third team that had an impact player the Hawks would want, and there just aren’t many of those right now.