Does this trade make sense for the New Orleans Pelicans?
Perimeter shooting is such a big part of today’s NBA and this proved to be true during the 2020-21 season. Of the 14 teams that failed to make the playoffs this season, 8 of them finished in the bottom ten of the league in three-point shooting.
This is definitely not a coincidence and the New Orleans Pelicans were one of these teams. They desperately need to add some more shooting to their roster and while he costs them a fair amount over the next few years, Buddy Hield is the key aspect of what the Pelicans are missing.
He can knock down a shot from virtually anywhere on the court and is more than capable of knocking down a handful of three-point shots per game, which is what the Pelicans need. Giving up the 10th pick in the draft would not be too ideal since the Pelicans do have needs for more young talents, but this is a team that is built to win now and needs to do so.
Zion Williamson is not going to sit around and wait for this team to build around him, which is why they need to make the most of his time in New Orleans. If they fail to make the playoffs during the 2021-22 season, there will be lots of talk about the 2022-23 season being Zion’s final year in NOLA, which is not what the Pelicans’ front-office wants to hear.
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Finding ways to build a playoff-caliber team now is what New Orleans is looking to do this offseason, which is why getting Buddy Hield would be much more valuable in the short-term than keeping the 10th overall pick and Steven Adams.
Trading away Wes Iwundu really does not impact the Pelicans at all, nor does trading a 2023 first-round pick swap since the Kings will likely not improve over the next three years, thus meaning that the Pelicans will just keep their pick that year.
New Orleans has the pending free agencies of Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart to deal with, which is one reason why they may not be too keen on taking in Buddy Hield’s contract, but at the end of the day, they need immediate talent and Hield supplies them with this.
