New Orleans Pelicans
With Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson being the focal points of their team, the New Orleans Pelicans have a ton of potential moving forward, but they could have some questions to answer about their backcourt in the offseason. They did not trade Lonzo Ball at the NBA trade deadline this year, likely meaning that they want to keep him long-term, but he is going to be a restricted free agent and could potentially sign elsewhere.
If the Pelicans lose Ball, then replacing him with John Wall makes a ton of sense, but if they agree to a long-term deal with the former #2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, then there is no reason to go out and trade for Wall.
Next season, Wall is owed $44.31M and he is owed $47.4M for the 2022-23 season should he opt into his player option for that season. Basically, the Pelicans would be tied down to $91.6M over the next two seasons for John Wall, which is why this would be a very risky acquisition, but could be well worth it if Lonzo Ball is not on this team.
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The only question for not just the Pelicans, but any team potentially trading for Wall is how can they absorb that kind of a contract? A feat of this kind would naturally require creativity from Pelicans President of Basketball Operations David Griffin in order to pull off, but it’s do-able.
Wall is owed over $40M/year and it would be very hard for the Pelicans to be able to absorb this kind of contract, which is why going after Lonzo Ball and signing him long-term is much more important than potentially targeting John Wall.
