Deandre Ayton Named Ambitious Trade Target For New Orleans Pelicans

Would Deandre Ayton be a good trade target for the New Orleans Pelicans?

Sep 30, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2). Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

With the 2024-25 regular season nearly here for the New Orleans Pelicans, the team is looking forward to what they hope will be a successful season. 

Last year, the Pelicans were able to make the playoffs, but were unfortunately knocked out rather quickly by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Considering they didn’t have Zion Williamson in the series, that was to be expected. However, even if Williamson was healthy, winning that series would have been a long shot. 

This summer, New Orleans spent a lot of effort trying to improve the team, and on paper it is certainly better. Acquiring Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks will give the Pelicans another player who can be an All-Star caliber guy on the court. 

Even though the roster is better on paper than last season, the Pelicans do have a glaring hole at the center position. There has been a lot of speculation about how the franchise will handle minutes there, but more than likely, they will have to make a move if they truly want to compete this season. 

Recently, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report spoke about Deandre Ayton of the Portland Trail Blazers being an ambitious trade target for them.

“There's the obvious roster imbalance, but Ayton has been a solid mid-range shooter over the last three seasons, too. He's hit 50 percent of his two-point attempts from 16 feet and out in that stretch, and it's fair to think he might be able to stretch that beyond the three-point line. If he can, Ayton would be exactly the kind of floor-spacing, rebounding 5 that Zion Williamson needs alongside him. And given Portland's need to unload experienced players and angle toward better lottery odds, a rebuilding trade involving Ingram's expiring deal could make some sense.”

Ayton would be an excellent fit for the Pelicans, as while he isn’t necessarily a three-point shooter at the center position, his ability to space the floor mid-range and rebound would be a good pairing with Williamson. 

Obviously, the cost for Ayton would be the big question, as the Pelicans do have the young players and draft capital to pull off a hypothetical trade. Also, if a third team was to get involved, they could use Ingram as a focal point in potential negotiations. 

Since the Trail Blazers will likely be a bad team once again this season, moving Ayton makes a lot of sense for them. If the Pelicans are playing well this year and looking to improve the center position, he would be an excellent fit.