The New Orleans Pelicans opted not to move star guard Lonzo Ball ahead of the trade deadline on March 25. It was somewhat surprising given his status as an impending restricted free agent and a questionable long-term fit in New Orleans.
Ball, 23, is in the midst of a career season. The former No. 2 pick of the Los Angeles Lakers is averaging 14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists on 38% shooting from distance. It led to widespread interest in the young man’s services ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
With New Orleans battling for a spot in the play-in tournament, we’re now hearing some more rumors suggesting that Ball could be a part of a sign-and-trade this coming summer.
“Some executives came away from those talks (ahead of the deadline) with the belief that Ball might be available in a sign-and-trade in the offseason as a restricted free agent,” Brian Windhorst of ESPN noted recently.
Sign-and-trades have been the name of the game in recent offseasons. Teams knowing full well that they are going to lose a player in free agency. In turn, they attempt to get something in return.
As a pending restricted free agent, New Orleans has the right to match any offer for Ball. This puts the team in a pretty strong situation to pull off a sign-and-trade.
Given his reported market of $20 million annually, that’s magnified further. Below, we look at three likely trade scenarios.
