The New Orleans Pelicans offseason is a vital one for multiple reasons. On top of being in a salary cap crunch that could see them lose one or both of their restricted free agent guards in Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, the team also is on a balancing act of dealing with a potentially upset Zion Williamson.
The result could mean the Pelicans may begin using some of the assets acquired through trades of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday to begin shaping a more competitive roster. Bleacher Report suggested one trade the team could make that would accomplish both sending away a player that struggled last season as well as bringing in a talented one in his place.
The trade suggested by Greg Swartz would see the Pelicans trade Eric Bledsoe, the No. 10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and the Lakers’ 2022 first round draft pick to Cleveland for Collin Sexton and Taurean Prince.
In theory, there are a couple of reasons why this deal could work. First, reports surfaced recently that the Pelicans were open to trading the No. 10 pick in search of a win-now upgrades. Bledsoe’s season in New Orleans went about as poorly as possible as it became clear he was not a good fit next to Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
For Cleveland, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated reported that the Cavs had begun exploring trade options for the 22-year-old guard. Entering the final year of his rookie deal before heading into restricted free agency, Sexton’s future is in question as well after Cleveland landed the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
Sexton would provide the Pelicans a lead ballhandler, which could potentially allow them to part ways with Lonzo Ball this summer as well. At 37.1% last season, Sexton was a better 3-point shooter than Bledsoe but still only right at league average. However, his ability to create offense would be a huge improvement in the backcourt for New Orleans.
While it may not be exactly this deal, the Pelicans could look to package the 10th pick with Bledsoe for an improvement and a salary dump both.
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