While Lonzo Ball’s future appears to be in New Orleans, the trade rumors will circulate in the coming weeks as the trade deadline approaches. On top of Ball’s strong play being a factor in him staying in New Orleans, it also serves to raise his trade value should the Pelicans look to deal him.
The Athletic’s Jay King and Jared Weiss took trade suggestions for the Celtics from fans and discussed them. One fan suggested a trade of Ball to Boston for two first round picks. Weiss and King provided the following analysis on the proposal:
King: If the Pelicans are willing to part with Ball, the Celtics should at least inquire about him. The 23-year-old has some holes in his game, but they wouldn’t matter as much if he could play alongside the Celtics’ better creators. Ball could line up next to Walker and/or potentially replace him one day. The idea is intriguing, but on top of whatever assets they would need to ship out in a deal, the Celtics would effectively need to commit to Ball’s next contract. That wouldn’t necessarily be prohibitive, but it’s an important factor to keep in mind.
Weiss: Ball is one of the best targets for Boston on the market. He is such a versatile player that he can slide in and complement anyone in Boston’s core and impact both sides of the ball. What’s great is they can take him into the Hayward TPE and still have about $17.5 million left to acquire a bigger wing at some point…
The Celtics are an interesting team at the deadline for the reasons Weiss mentioned. The team is able to acquire a whole host of players with above-average salaries without having to send outgoing salary as well.
This not only makes it easier for them to make a trade, it makes them an enticing target for teams looking to shed money. While that isn’t specifically the case for New Orleans, they do hand off the decision of Ball’s impending restricted free agency to another team as well.
Ball would be an interesting fit in Boston. He would slide in alongside All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and could feature in the backcourt alongside either Marcus Smart or Kemba Walker. It would also provide him his first experience at playoff basketball as well.