Phoenix Suns: 5 potential Trevor Ariza trades

3. New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans need a two-way wing who knows his role about as badly as anyone in the NBA. They’ve got Anthony Davis‘ possible extension coming up soon, which means this season is of the utmost importance to convince an MVP candidate he’s in a situation where he can compete for a title soon.

Between AD, Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic and Julius Randle, the Pelicans sport a high-powered offense, ranked fourth in the NBA. However, they’re an average 3-point shooting team (15th in long range efficiency) and a downright disappointment on defense (24th in defensive rating). That defense gets significantly worse when Davis sits.

Getting Elfrid Payton back is still hugely important for New Orleans, but upgrading the wing with an experienced, two-way vet like Ariza could work wonders. The Pelicans wouldn’t be an enticing destination over the Warriors, Rockets or Lakers, but their desperation could actually work to the Suns’ advantage.

Phoenix isn’t dealing from a position of power when it comes to Ariza, but New Orleans needs more defensive help and could really do with getting the last two years of Solomon Hill off the books. He’s owed $12.3 million this year and $12.8 million next year, which is a massive burden considering he’s averaging 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds on .333/.259/.500 shooting splits in his 19.9 minutes per game.

This is the kind of contract Phoenix would prefer to avoid in an Ariza trade, but perhaps the 27-year-old Hill could recoup his value on an irrelevant, young team. Even if he didn’t, he’d become an expiring contract next year and if there’s a first round pick of some sort attached — even a protected one — it might be worth it.