The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of talent on the roster for a team that's 14-43 and sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. It's a little unfair to disparage their players for this season's performance though, as injuries struck down practically their entire core in the early part of the year and essentially ended their playoff hopes just weeks into the campaign.
Still, the Pelicans have been a great example of how a team can be a lot less than the sum of its parts. For four seasons now, they've had at least three All-Star-caliber players on the roster: Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum. Despite their collective talent, they've managed just two playoff wins since acquiring CJ from the Portland Trail Blazers.
New Orleans doubled down on their approach this past summer by trading for Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks. We never really got to see how it panned out due to the injuries, but, likely, the Pelicans wouldn't have lived up to the expectations of having four All-Stars on the roster at the same time. It might not have worked out the first couple of times, but the New Orleans Pelicans are well-positioned to add another star to their roster this summer.
These stars could demand a trade this summer and fall into the laps of the New Orleans Pelicans
1. Kevin Durant - Phoenix Suns
Amid all of the craziness of the 2025 NBA trade deadline, the Kevin Durant saga with the Phoenix Suns was kind of swept under the rug. Reports came out that the Suns were actually working on a potential deal that would KD back to the Golden State Warriors but backed out at the last minute, in part due to Durant's aversion to a return to the Bay.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Slim Reaper was blindsided by his inclusion in trade talks and that Phoenix planned to revisit their roster plans this offseason after ultimately retaining KD through the deadline. If the Suns continue to struggle, Phoenix's sneaky attempts to trade Durant might lead to him asking out this summer, at which point the Pelicans could offer them a package they'd be hard-pressed to turn down.
2. Trae Young - Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks sent a message to the NBA world this past trade deadline: they're looking to rebuild. They did so by trading De'Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers in return for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and draft capital. This move was a dead giveaway that the Hawks had no plans to compete this season or in the near future.
Atlanta does already have a decent crop of young players with promising risers like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and 2024 number-one pick Zaccharie Risacher. Trae Young is theoretically still young enough at 26 to endure through another short retool, but there's also a chance that he's grown tired of the Hawks' mediocrity in his time there. If so, he'd make a perfect running mate throwing lobs to Zion.
3. Ja Morant - Memphis Grizzlies
Let me go ahead and preface this by saying that I haven't seen any reports that Ja Morant wants out or that the Memphis Grizzlies have thought about moving him. What I have seen is Ja having his worst season in a long time while the Grizz have established themselves as serious title threats despite his struggles.
Morant is currently averaging just 20.5 points and 7.4 assists to 3.8 turnovers per game while shooting a career-low 44.1 percent from the field. And yet, Memphis is comfortably in the three seed at 37-20 and vying to take the two spot away from the Denver Nuggets. Part of their success this season has been in finding ways to win without Ja, who's only played in 35 games this year. They've been able to maintain their winning percentage with him on the sidelines this season, going 14-8 in games without him.
Several players have stepped up in Ja's absences to keep the Grizzlies humming, including Desmond Bane, rookie Jaylen Wells, and Jaren Jackson Jr., who's quietly enacting a coup d'état to take over as the face of the franchise. Perhaps Morant will feel like he's being pushed out this summer or maybe Memphis pulls the trigger first to fully commit to building around JJJ. Either way, the Pelicans should be ready to pounce if Ja is made available this offseason.