TRADE CANNOT HAPPEN UNTIL DEC 15TH!

Normally I do trade ideas that involve the Pistons but I've made an exception today...

WHY SPURS

I know trading for Zion is a gamble due to his health issues, but this is a swing for the fences that only a team in the state of the Spurs could make. With the amount of 1st round picks they have, even in this trade, they would still have one or more 1st round picks in every year moving forward.

Here's a thought, if Zion doesn't work out, they still have enough ammo to try and be in the Giannis or Embiid convo amongst other stars who have seemed discontented and possibly may be traded in the near future, but as is, Zion and Wemby are HANDS DOWN the most polorizing players in the last decade to come into the NBA. Having them together and seeing what you can make happen makes a ton of sense. Moving forward with Tre Jones and Stephen Castle replacing the 1 year rental in CP3 makes sense in this scenario as well.

WHY LAKERS

Some wouldn't see the value in CP3 on the Lakers vs D. Russ who gives them more direct scoring, but CP3 would actually be great for the Lakers as a starting point guard. He is one of the smartest players to ever play the game. Not only would Lebron and Anthony Davis benefit greatly from his presence but above all else, Dalton Knect, who would literally benefit mostly, would be open all day long. It would be a dangerous "pick your poison" for every team to face and by making 8 mil in cap space, when players start getting released at the deadline, they will have easy pickings.

WHY PELICANS

Considering that the market for the ultra-talented Zion Williamson is unpredictable, walking away with 2 good players, 2 unprotected picks, a pick swap, and a 2nd round pick (they may want a couple more to sweeten the pot) could go a long way in a rebuild. Currently on pace for a top 3 pick, I'd expect them to continue to offload players. Probably even McCullum AND Ingram who would net them more 1st round picks.

Look at OKC, the Spurs, Celtics, Knicks, etc. When doing a soft or hard rebuild, gathering 1st round picks is the wave. In having Dejounte Murray, they could rebuild much faster than other teams may have ever been able to and when thinking about trading CJ or Ingram, let's not undermine that instead of doing so for picks, they could do so for different stars who very well may be traded soon.