New Orleans Pelicans: Pros and cons of trading for Kevin Durant
New Orleans Pelicans: Trading Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram for Kevin Durant
Any trade for Kevin Durant is likely to have to include either Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram, though the Pelicans are one of the few teams that wouldn’t have to throw in much more than just one of their young stars.
They could likely trade Zion almost straight up for Durant, who is 33-years-old. Trading Ingram would take more of a sweetener in the form of a couple of first-round draft picks, which the New Orleans Pelicans have.
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Pros: Adding Durant, even if the Pels had to give up Zion, would make them the frontrunners to win a title next season. The Pelicans made the playoffs without Zion, so adding one of the greatest scorers of all time to a team that already made the playoffs, would make them nearly unstoppable offensively.
Imagine a trio of Durant, McCollum and Ingram or Durant, McCollum and Zion. They would be poised to contend for a few seasons at least. Winning titles is the point of the NBA, so you have to take your shot when you get it.
Cons: They are ready to contend anyway, as this team has a chance to be scary next season with the roster they already have in place. Not only that, but switching out a 21-year-old for 33-year-old Durant might actually put a cap on how many titles they could win.
Look, it is never a given in the NBA and lots can change, but this team has the young talent and draft assets to be sustainably good for the foreseeable future, and they’d be giving some of that future up by trading for Durant.
Yes, Durant might give them a better chance to win a title next season, but what about the season after that? And the one after that? How about five years from now when he is out of the league? The Pelicans have a bigger championship window with the team they have now, even if their odds of winning a title aren’t as high.