A perfect trade between the Chicago Bulls and Pelicans with Lonzo Ball and Lauri Markkanen
Why it makes sense for the Pelicans?
The Pelicans are likely to undergo another offseason full of change as they look to build the best roster possible around the star forward duo of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. While Zion largely took a step forward and remained mostly healthy throughout the regular season, Ingram took somewhat of a step back.
Williamson played in 61 regular season games and averaged 27 points per game, seven rebounds, four assists, approximately one steal, and one block. And he registered a stellar 5.4 box plus/minus and 27.1 player efficiency rating on his way to his first career All-Star nod.
However, the rest of the core around Zion and Ingram needs to improve. The Pelicans already parted ways with veteran sharpshooting guard J.J. Redick late in the season. And there could be more pieces on the way out, including Lonzo and fellow guard Eric Bledsoe.
Markkanen could give the Pelicans a nice frontcourt piece to space the floor out around Zion. He didn’t have much of that this season playing alongside a traditional big man in veteran Steven Adams. Any other pieces the Bulls toss into discussions could also help the Pelicans assemble a new and more proficient supporting cast around Zion.
There are a plethora of other needs for David Griffin to tackle for the Pelicans, including finding more veteran leadership to get them over the hump, more consistent defense, and a third scorer outside of Zion and Ingram. A lot of those pieces are ones that the Bulls front office could provide the Pelicans with for the right return this summer.