New Orleans Pelicans: 3 bold predictions for 2018-19 NBA season

PHILADELPHIA,PA - FEBRUARY 9 : Anthony Davis #23, Jrue Holiday #11 and Nikola Mirotic #3 of the New Orleans Pelicans look on against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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2. The Pelicans will trade for a wing

Despite their feverish pursuit of back-to-back playoff appearances, New Orleans still has a glaring lack of wing depth on their roster.

Jrue Holiday should play point guard for most of his minutes, meaning that the primary wing players the Pelicans will sport are E’Twaun Moore and Darius Miller. Their wing “depth” includes Ian Clark (overexposed last year), Solomon Hill (essentially a 225-pound carcass at this point), and Frank Jackson and Troy Williams (both unproven).

If the Pelicans want to play as fast as they did in the second half of the 2017-18 season, they’ll simply need more bodies. They have plenty in the frontcourt (maybe even enough to create a minutes conundrum) with Julius Randle and Jahlil Okafor joining Davis, Nikola Mirotic and Cheick Diallo. They are also set at point guard with Holiday and Elfrid Payton.

Who the team is able to trade for on the wing may determine how high their ceiling is, because filling that void with anyone on the current roster seems unlikely.

Wings the team could realistically target are Kent Bazemore, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Evan Fournier. All three are on teams expected to miss the playoffs and all three are starter-quality players, albeit overpaid.

The Pelicans’ front office may be hesitant to give up the first round draft pick it would likely require to get one of the three, especially after giving up one for Mirotic in February, but they need to capitalize while Davis is still around and make the case for why he should stay.

All three of these deals–Bazemore, Hardaway, Fournier — are ESPN Trade Machine-approved and possible if the Pelicans threw in a first-rounder.

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