Pelicans: Possible NBA Draft trade partners from each conference

The New Orleans Pelicans have the 8th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and there is still a lot of mystery around what they are going to do with it.

They can obviously just take the best player available and add another young talent to a team that made the playoffs last season and will be getting Zion Williamson back.

But there has been speculation that the Pelicans may try to trade this pick, which only grew after a recent report that said the Pels were open to trade for “win now compensation.”

The Pelicans also have a couple of contracts they would like to get off their books, so may be able unload them, along with their draft pick for a player who is ready to help them win now.

It’s easy to make an argument either way, as adding another top-10 pick help keeps a sustainable pipeline of cheap talent, with the flip side being that the Pelicans are ready to win now and already have enough young players playing big roles.

The problem is finding a trade partner that has what the New Orleans Pelicans would want/need for the 8th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

New Orleans Pelicans: Win-now compensation

The Pelicans have one last season before Zion Williamson’s extension kicks in, and with the uncertainty about his health, it does make some sense to go for it every year that he’s in the league, especially while New Orleans still has CJ McCollum under contract and playing well.

But when you start to look around the league, there are limited teams with guys who would both help the Pelicans without destroying their cap sheet, offer them the chance to “win now” and are worthy of the 8th pick as compensation.

Here’s a look at both conferences and the teams you can almost certainly rule out, some that are long shots and some that are more likely trade partners for the Pelicans.