The New Orleans Pelicans (19-51) and Portland Trail Blazers (31-39) are two of the worst teams in the Western Conference. The Pelicans have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth time in the last seven seasons, while the Trail Blazers (despite a three-game winning streak) sit two games out of the field of teams just fighting to make the Play-In Tournament.
Despite boasting stars like Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson, it’s been a mostly rough stretch for both New Orleans and Portland during the majority of the last decade.
The Pelicans have not only made the playoffs just twice since the 2018-19 campaign, but one of those years saw them post a meager 36-46 regular season mark and both tournament appearances ended in the first round. The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
With that being said, both rosters still have intriguing pieces entering, or already in their prime, who could be traded this summer in a retooling effort.
Blockbuster Trade Idea Sends Williamson to City of Roses, Star Guards to Big Easy
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus crafted a blockbuster trade idea on Friday that would land Williamson in Portland.
New Orleans receives:
– Anfernee Simons
– Duop Reath
– Shaedon Sharpe
– 2025 first-round pick
– $11.8 million trade exception (Williamson)
– $4.7 million trade exception (Jordan Hawkins)
Portland receives:
– Jordan Hawkins
– Jose Alvarado
– Zion Williamson
Pincus notes that with the proposed deal, both teams “would have hard caps at the first apron (projected at $195.9 million) but should be able to head into the 2025-26 season under the luxury-tax threshold ($187.9 million).”
“(New Orleans) isn’t looking to dump (Williamson) but has opportunistically looked at the trade market. With a high pick coming in June’s draft and Dejounte Murray on the long road back from an Achilles injury, this offseason may be the time for the Pelicans to shift gears and get value for Williamson,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers have shown enough promise that they may be willing to add their next piece to push for a playoff berth. The risk with Williamson is clear, but so is the upside.”
The former No. 1 overall pick out of Duke has been limited to 30 games this season but has registered 24.6 points per contest, matched his career high of 7.2 rebounds per tilt and averaged career bests in assists (5.3), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.9) as well.
Alvarado is averaging high marks in points (9.6), assists (4.6) and minutes per game (23.9) across 46 contests (13 starts) while leading the Pelicans with a 37.6% three-point field goal percentage. In his second season out of UConn, Hawkins has recorded 10.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per tilt over 52 games (seven starts).
Adding Williamson ‘May be Too Hard’ For Trail Blazers to ‘Pass Up’
With Williamson still just 24 years old, Portland could bring in their next franchise player, but it would take a significant haul to get him.
“Adding a talent like Williamson, even with the injury risk, may be too hard for the Blazers to pass up. It’s because of said risk that they would even have a shot at one of the most dominant scoring forwards in the league,” Pincus wrote.
On top of the trade $16.5 million in trade exceptions and seldom-used second-year pro in Reath, both Sharpe and Simons would be tough for Trail Blazers fans to say goodbye to.
The duo are not only the top two scorers on the team this season (Simons at 19.6 points per game, Sharpe at 17.5) but have been durable as well, missing just a combined 12 contests. Simons will turn 26 in June, while Sharpe will only be 22 in May.
“Regarding what they’re giving up, Simons is heading into the final year of his contract at $27.7 million. With Scoot Henderson growing into his role and the dual emergence of Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara as core players for the Blazers, Simons may be expendable,” the Bleacher Report scribe wrote. “The decision may be tougher for Shaedon Sharpe, but the third-year guard hasn’t had as strong of a year as the franchise had hoped, and he’s extension-eligible this summer. Portland likely wouldn’t be eager to give up the pair unless it’s for a player of Williamson’s caliber.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Pelicans Trade Zion Williamson West in Bold Blockbuster Proposal appeared first on Heavy Sports.