Cleveland Cavaliers: 4 trades to split up Sexton and Garland

1. New Orleans Pelicans move on from Ball

The New Orleans Pelicans have bounced back from losing Anthony Davis with ease as the arrival of Zion Williamson and a breakout season Brandon Ingram has put the franchise a few pieces away from being a serious playoff threat.

While the team is made up of some promising young players like Jaxson Hayes and Josh Hart, the odd man out has become Lonzo Ball. The defensive-oriented guard’s role has become redundant alongside Jrue Holiday as Ball is a weaker option in nearly every way.

Ball would be much more valuable to the Cavaliers – who are in desperate need of a lockdown defender to play with one of their guards. In exchange, the Pelicans would acquire Darius Garland, the offensive threat the Pelicans need to open the floor for the rest of the team.

The Cavaliers could continue to play Collin Sexton at the two, while Ball takes over as the primary playmaker. Ball’s presence as a borderline All-NBA defender would help solve the Cavaliers woes on this end of the floor while also allowing Sexton to focus more on scoring rather than creating for others.

Ball averaged 11.8 points, 7.0 assists and 6.1 rebounds last season. He isn’t much of a scorer but he has shown improvements on offense, actually making more 3-pointers on higher efficiency than Devin Booker. Ball’s all-around skillset would complement Sexton nicely and potentially help push the Cavs back into the playoff picture.

To finish off the deal, the Cavaliers would swap picks with the Pelicans where they can again target another role player late in the lottery to round out the rest of their lineup.