The last few NBA seasons for the New Orleans Pelicans have been pretty eventful. After trading away Anthony Davis last summer to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pelicans drafted rookie sensation, Zion Williamson, to be the new face of the franchise.
While he sat out most of last season with a knee injury, not making his NBA debut until Jan. 22nd, 2020, Zion Williamson exploded onto the scene. In his first NBA regular-season game, Zion played 18 minutes and scored 22 points on 8-11 shooting, 4-4 from deep, and added 7 rebounds.
Zion Williamson has all the makings of being an All-Star talent for many years to come and with the right pieces around him, the Pelicans could slowly build this team into a contender. As good as Zion was in his limited time last season, Brandon Ingram sustained success over the course of the whole season.
Brandon Ingram played in 62 games last year for the Pelicans, averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and shot 46.3% from the floor, 39.1% from three-point range. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his young career and at the end of the season, was named the 2019-20 NBA Most Improved Player.
This offseason, the Pelicans tried to bring in strong, athletic players to surround Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. They ultimately traded away former All-Star guard Jrue Holiday, but were able to add Steven Adams, Willy Hernangomez, Eric Bledsoe and they added rookie Kira Lewis Jr. Not to mention, they also inked Brandon Ingram to a five-year, $158M contract-extension this offseason.
The New Orleans Pelicans look to have a playoff contending team once again, barring no injuries, but have some flexibility when it comes to potentially making a trade this season. Here are 3 intriguing trade targets the Pelicans should pursue over the course of the 2020-21 NBA season.
