Does this trade make sense for the New Orleans Pelicans?
If the New Orleans Pelicans are unable to convince Lonzo Ball to re-sign with them in the offseason, then trading him in a sign-and-trade deal definitely makes sense for the Pelicans, however this deal with the Lakers does not seem too feasible.
Acquiring Kuzma and the 22nd overall pick makes sense, but figuring out how to work in Talen Horton-Tucker’s new contract is the problem. Who knows what kind of contract he will sign in the offseason and the Pelicans really may not be interested in adding a new guard to their rotation that is tied down for 3-4 years.
Lonzo Ball is a much better talent than both THT and Kyle Kuzma, which is why they should be devoting all of their energy this offseason to figuring out how to bring him back instead of working on trade packages to send him away.
Just because they sign Ball does not mean the Pelicans will be done in free agency/offseason trades either. They could hypothetically sign Lonzo Ball to a new multi-year contract for let’s say $20M/year and then be able to add more talent to their roster by trading away Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams.
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Both of these two veteran’s contracts add up to about $35M in cap space for the 2021-22 season and both guys seem to be on the trade block by New Orleans, so there are options for this organization to add more talent to their roster even with re-signing Lonzo Ball.
If they are unable to do so, then yes, trading Lonzo Ball does make sense for the Pelicans, but bringing him back is the best move for them this offseason. This sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers does the Pelicans no good, which is why this sign-and-trade proposal does not make sense for New Orleans.
