Last season was Lonzo Ball’s first season in New Orleans, as he was sent to the Pelicans in the deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers, and while he did perform well during the NBA regular season, there were a lot of concerns within the Pelicans organization about his lack of effort down the stretch.

Ball averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists and shot 40.3% from the floor during the entire regular season for the Pelicans, but during the NBA restart in the Orlando Bubble, Lonzo Ball only averaged 7.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists and shot just over 30% from the floor in the NBA Bubble. Not to mention, he turned the ball over 3 times per game on average.

When it mattered most, Lonzo Ball did not show up and it seemed like he could not be bothered to play. Is that someone this team wants long-term next to Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson? This offseason, the Pelicans acquired Eric Bledsoe from the Milwaukee Bucks and also drafted their potential point guard of the future in Kira Lewis Jr.

So far this year, Ball has responded quite well to all of the criticism and has carved out a key role in the Pelicans starting rotation, averaging 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals and shooting 38.9% from the floor, but only 29.1% from three-point range. 

He has started in every single game he has played in, but with the Pelicans struggling early on in the year, could they look to trade the young guard since he is in the final year of his contract? Let’s take a look at four perfect trades for the New Orleans Pelicans involving Lonzo Ball.