James Harden trade destination No. 1 – New Orleans Pelicans
Speaking of the Jrue Holiday trade, the Milwaukee Bucks sent a substantial amount of draft capital to the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire the guard last month. If New Orleans is pushing to win now with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, using their king’s ransom of assets to bring in a superstar like James Harden could jumpstart the process.
After their busy offseason, New Orleans is constructed to win now, as seen with the additions of Eric Bledsoe and Stevens Adams this offseason. Still, even with a reshaped roster, the odds of the Pelicans making it into the jam-packed Western Conference postseason race is slim.
If NOLA wants to leap higher in the standings, inquiring about a trade for James Harden could do just that. The seven-time All-NBA honoree would bring a dose of star power to New Orleans and help form a box office trio alongside Ingram and Williamson.
Along with that, opportunities such as this do not come along often. Small market teams are not an attractive free agent destination, which is why they are forced to give into hefty trade demands to land star players. (See what New Orleans received for Jrue Holiday from Milwaukee).
With the Pelicans holding onto a stockpile of draft capital over the next decade, using a portion of those assets to acquire a superstar of James Harden’s capital should be a viable topic of discussion to win now.