Why The New Orleans Pelicans Do The Deal

The New Orleans Pelicans do this trade for the opposite reason. They’re willing to lower their ceiling in order to raise their floor.

On a related note: this team sure would have a high floor following this trade. The playoffs, barring injury, would be a formality. A lineup featuring Towns alongside Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum ought to challenge for the best offense in the NBA.

Defense might be a problem. With that said, Brandon Ingram has been making strides on that end. Furthermore, soon-to-be-sophomore Herb Jones earned serious All-Defense consideration in his rookie campaign. With some further moves, the Pelicans could at least avoid disaster on that end.

Alternatively, they might just outscore everyone anyway. In the modern NBA, offense reigns supreme. All the Pelicans would have to do is cobble together a middling defense and they’ll be a dangerous group in 2022-23 following this deal.

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This trade may appear unrealistic, but there is a sense in it for both sides. Whenever you say that, you’ve got a transaction you can’t rule out entirely.