How the Pelicans can benefit from the Kevin Durant trade

The NBA world is still buzzing after the news the Kevin Durant has demanded a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, and as a team with plenty of young talent and draft assets, the New Orleans Pelicans were immediately mentioned as a possible destination.

I do not think this is going to happen, as the Nets would undoubtedly want either Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram in the deal which is probably a non-starter for the Pelicans, who are trying to build sustained success with a homegrown roster.

Durant is 33-years-old, and even though he is still a top-5 player in the league, it’s hard to give up the potential of this current Pels’ roster, which is a title contender with or without Durant.

If the Pelicans could somehow land Durant without giving up either of their young stars, it would be no-brainer to at least explore it, but that seems like an unlikely scenario.

But that doesn’t mean the New Orleans Pelicans can’t benefit from the Kevin Durant trade.

How the New Orleans Pelicans could get involved in the Kevin Durant trade

Kevin Durant has reportedly named the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat as his preferred destinations, which isn’t at all surprising given that he is one of the biggest frontrunners of all time and both of these teams were already title contenders without him.

With Durant, either would be the favorite to win the championship next season, giving him the easiest possible path to another ring.

But there are big problems for either team when it comes to trading for him, as the Nets are obviously going to try and find the best possible deal for their superstar, and it probably wouldn’t come from either Phoenix or Miami.

In a recent episode of his podcast, Zach Lowe confirmed this, as Phoenix may not have the cap space and Miami lacks the assets that the Nets will want in any Durant trade.

That’s where the New Orleans Pelicans come in.

If Phoenix needs cap space, how about the Pelicans send them a slew of picks and a young player for Mikal Bridges?

If Miami needs more players and draft assets to sweeten the deal, how about a trade for Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro? This has been discussed among Pelicans’ beat writers like Shamit Dua, and is starting to gain momentum as a real possibility.

The Pelicans are one of the few teams in the NBA that can trade multiple picks due to the Stepien Rule which forbids a team from trading their own first round pick in consecutive seasons. But the Pelicans have multiple picks for the foreseeable future, so could really grease the wheels in a 3-team trade that sends Durant to either Miami or Phoenix.

The Pels can be players in the Kevin Durant trade even if they don’t land KD and could end up walking away from this with one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the NBA.