I'll address this trade from the perspective of the Pelicans being the initiators.

Currently NOLA sits at 7th in the Western Conference with a few tough decisions to make ahead of the Feb. 8th trade deadline. Firstly, they have an expiring Jonas Valanciunas to worry about, as without an agreement to an extension, the big man could walk in free agency (depending on his market this might present an issue larger than most fans know.) Secondly, (and perhaps more important), Brandon Ingram is looking at his second to last year before requiring an extension upwards of $250,000,000+ by this time next year. With the Pelicans being a small market team with no incentive to pay the luxury tax until they have proven they can make it past the second round of the playoffs, its likely a trade for BI will come in the offseason or by next deadline regardless. This is where the idea for this trade comes in. To fix both issues here and now.

Brandon Ingram to Brooklyn

Brandon is currently averaging 21.4 ppg / 5.0 Reb / 5.6 Ast on fairly decent efficiency. As well as shooting 35% from 3 on an average of 2.3 attempts a game. This is solid considering he is not the primary option for NOLA at the moment, which may actually be hindering his numbers. Not to mention he has had to adjust his playstyle this season to more off-ball movement shooting with the inclusion of a healthy Zion. The idea behind trading him to Brooklyn is to allow BI to go to a team where he can be the clear-cut first option and put up the numbers we were seeing from him when Zion was injured and the team relied solely on him. To put this into perspective, during the end of the 2021-2022 season, when the Pels advanced to the Playoffs and faced Pheonix in a 6 game series, Brandon was averaging 28+ ppg, 5 Reb and 4 Ast. Meaning he can be a BONIFIED first option if given the chance. The trade would send a young Mikal Bridges, an athletic 3-point shooting wing to replace BI as well as an expiring Royce O'neal for moneys sake which would shed plenty off the Pels front office books next season as well in order to begin negotiations around a Valanciunas/Trey Murphy extension. The picks given are a second from Washington and the coveted LAL 1st round pick that can be deferred to 2025 if the pick is more valuable that year. Solid draft capital for Brooklyn to start tooling their team moving into the future.

Larry and Dyson to Washington.

Washington is looking for 2 things. Youth and Talent. Larry gives them a solid small ball 5 options as well as good offensive 4 to add to the rotation, and Dyson gives them plenty of youth and talent moving forward. Couple this with an attractive 2027 FRP from Milwaukee when the Dame and Giannis era comes to an end and you're looking at a solid return for Gafford. Gafford is a great option for NOLA as a back-up 5 that can swap in for around 18-20 minutes a contest. This also assures the Pels some insurance if Jonas decides to not resign with the organization as well. This trade not only bolsters the Wizards assets, but protects the Pelicans in their efforts to negotiate with their starting big man.

Let me know your thoughts!