The New Orleans Pelicans have been sleepers in the NBA trade market for years now but David Griffin has “seen enough”. With their “mountain of picks” and mixture of veteran and young assets, they are poised to make a major splash. This deal can certainly be split into 2 but I put it together in order to show that it can be done.
The Pelicans receive Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen. This puts them in a position to not only stay competitive in the West but it also gives them an out if and when they decide to pivot from Zion, it’s a win-win. They surround Zion with a go-to perimeter scoring threat, a utility star/ veteran leader, and a defensive anchor at Center. All this whilst retaining guys like Nance, Marshall, Hawkins and Murphy. As well as their own pick in this year’s draft.
The Cavs have to pivot from either Mitchell or Garland next season. They just don’t compliment each other and Garland seems to be the consensus choice to keep. They have an opportunity to build the best possible complimentary roster around Garland and Mobley next season. McCollum makes sense because he’s experienced playing next to a ball dominant PG before with Dame. CJ is capable of playing more off-ball than Mitchell and will still drop about 20-25 a night. JV is a downgrade from Allen but he adds girth and is still a very solid Center who will complement Mobley and just be less of a redundancy. Not to mention he’ll be a cheaper option moving forward. Alvarado is a much needed backup PG who provides even more defensive intensity to a stacked roster. Lastly they land Herb Jones who is regarded as THE BEST perimeter defender in the NBA. They also recoup some of the draft capital from the Mitchell trade.
And lastly that brings us to the Miami Heat. There seems to be some trouble in paradise and reality has started to set in. One could point to Jimmy’s off court antics but really it’s his health, availability and age that is becoming a problem in South Beach. This offseason is their opportunity to cash in and start their soft rebuild around Bam Adebayo. Adding a go-to scoring threat like Brandon Ingram would open up the floor for Herro and Bam on the offensive end. Dyson Daniels on the other hand is exactly the type of player the Heat love. A young, tough defensive-minded guard who’ll be asked to turn up the hustle and intensity every night. And getting even more picks to add to their pile could set them up for a future trade. They might even work on landing another big name by packaging Herro with the picks. Booker or Dame perhaps?