Two Pelicans the Los Angeles Lakers could potentially trade for
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers made a title-winning trade with the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2019 when they flipped all of the young core and multiple draft picks in return for Anthony Davis. It was a great deal for both sides.
The Lakers got a top-five superstar to pair alongside LeBron James who is probably LeBron’s best teammate of his career. The Pelicans got a surge of youth and assets, including a breakout season from Brandon Ingram that made him one of the top 20/25 players in the league.
The future is bright in New Orleans with Ingram and Zion Williamson at the center of the franchise.
Notice that Lonzo Ball was not mentioned in that pairing. As a huge Lonzo guy myself, even I can admit that it just has not worked out as expected in New Orleans for the oldest Ball brother. The two sides could not agree to an extension by the restricted free agent deadline and now Lonzo is potentially being shopped.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Pelicans are getting calls for both Lonzo and JJ Redick and that the team is open to trading both players. If New Orleans is willing to trade those two, with a 5-10 record, then it is safe to say that they are likely willing to trade other assets as well.
The Los Angeles Lakers could join this potential New Orleans Pelicans fire sale.
The thing is, though, that the Los Angeles Lakers are not going to get any of the marquee names. While I would love to sit here and work out a trade for Lonzo Ball or JJ Redick, it just is not happening. The Lakers do not really have the contracts to move for either guy, and if they did, it would take trading Dennis Schroder, something I am highly doubtful of.
There are two lesser names that the Lakers could explore and they two things in common, one of which being that they are not the most exciting potential trade targets, so don’t get too excited.
However, they are still worth mentioning because of the Lakers’ needs and the Pelicans’ willingness to get anything they can get.