New Orleans Pelicans should go all in with a trade for Lauri Markkanen to pair with Zion Williamson

New Orleans Pelicans should go all in with a trade for Lauri Markkanen to pair with Zion Williamson

it sounds like the Utah Jazz are open to trading away Lowry marketing what are the odds the Pelicans can get him in exchange for brand Ingram and the bigger question is does he even fit I’ll explain why it’s a gamble that’s maybe worth taking in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans let’s [Music] go you are locked on Pelicans your daily New Orleans Pelicans podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday welcome to another edition of locked on Pelicans the daily podcast covering your favorite team the New Orleans Pelicans in NBA part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day available wherever you get your podcast and available on YouTube I’m your host Pelicans Insider credential member of the media Jake Madison at NOA Jake on Twitter here with y’all on this Tuesday we’re going to look at a bigname trade Target that pre viously didn’t think was going to get moved but now it sounds like from things going on around the NBA yeah low marinin might be on the move and maybe maybe I’m not entirely sold on this yet we’re going to see if I can convince myself the Pelicans should go after him right now as a trade Target for brain ingrams we’ll break it all down in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans this episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by Fu will make every moment more the playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them to do but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fel.com locked on to get started and of course thank you for making locked on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well so the dream trade Target for number of people I think is Larry marinin this dude is good and fits next to Zion Williamson in in in one capacity there there’s a caveat to that an asterisk to that if you if you will but Lowry marinan is a tremendous player and him on the court next to Zion Williamson would be great but there are two problems trying to bring him here to the Pelicans to New Orleans let’s start with this one the first is he’s not a center he’s not a center this is someone who’s a small forward who’s a power forward but not a center hold on more with that in a second here so the big glare in need right now for New Orleans is not wing wing depth losing Nai Marshall Herz but I think they’re going to look at giving a lot of those minutes to Jordan Hawkins to Matt ryer to someone else next season Antonio Reeves you can you can fill it with a little bit of an undersized player you have Trey Murphy there you have herb Jones there too you know power forward is occupy by Zion Williamson kind of as simple as that you’ll see herb there you’ll see Trey there too so that’s not exactly what Lowry plays is a position of Need for New Orleans so if the big need what the ho they need to plug on the roster right now is the big man spot the center spot and and it really is with just Eve Mei a rookie who’s not ready for that kind of role yet that’s not ideal that’s a bit of a a weird spot to put in that if New Orleans trades Brandon Ingram and gives up pick and you would need to give up picks to get Lowry Markin in all of a sudden that presents a problem because you still have that glaring hole at the center position and you don’t have really answers to that because look the the free agent Market on the center spot is drying up and I’m not really worried about that more on that in the third segment of today’s show so that presents kind of the problem but there is some potential there for him to play center or say you’re just like screw it let’s make it work him and Zion in the front Court there is some some data and things to look at that go maybe this can work and the first is there are 76 possessions this year 76 that’s it 76 possessions this year where Lowry Markin and plays center that is the like smallest sample size let’s not read too much into this but those 76 possessions were good the Utah Jazz had a net rating of 34 of positive 34.2 when he played center now that doesn’t take into their opponent the game the situation like any of those factors it’s just the raw data so you’re missing literally all of the context around it but that actually least looked okay but here’s another thing that makes you wonder if it could work you know think about who he’s played alongside Walker Kessler has been their Center there he took a step back we talked about him in yesterday’s show I’m not the biggest Walker Kessler fan but you could do worse than him but you have also seen John Collins play center alongside Lowry Markin and at the power forward spot John Collins is an undersized five 69 doesn’t play like a true shot blocking Rim protecting Center well what if Larry marinin and John Collins worked you know that’s similar even if you would kind of be reversing the positions for Zion Williamson and Lowry marinin and marinin has the height and makes you think he could play center he’s a seven-footer but he definitely doesn’t by the way Markin in stats last two years ago he won most improved player was an All-Star 25.6 points per game 8.6 rebounds two assists half a block half a steel shoots threes over seven almost eight attempts per game two years ago 39% last year 23.2 points per game 8.2 rebounds two assists half a block almost one steal per game shot 40% on eight attempts per game it’s a like the three-point shooting Big B right you know New Orleans has never really put that Court spacer next to Zion Williamson and I think that’s something we would all really TR truly like to see so this is maybe your opportunity to do it because not that many type of players like that exist now some of those again he’s not a center but the numbers next to John Collins weren’t bad they weren’t great but Utah also wasn’t a good team this past year in 1, in600 possessions they had a net rating of minus 1.4 so it’s a negative net rating but they were a good rebounding team overall with Larry Markin and John Collins out there on the court together defensive rebounding team that says something right like they made rebounding work they weren’t Elite they weren’t bad they were like slightly above average maybe that means you could make it work here where you do play Larry Markin and Moore at Center or Zion at the five knowing that you have a big bodied man like John Collins next to him in the front court and it’s not an undersized player think of a lineup of dejonte Murray um CJ McCullum like Trey Murphy Larry marinan and Zion Williamson like that’s a pretty fun lineup you could put herb Jones in there you could take CJ out for herb though I think you need CJ shooting you’re never going to play five out with Zion Williamson but you know Deonte can shoot CJ can shoot Trey can shoot Larry can shoot you know it’s four of your Five Guys right there so it’s not five out basketball but it’s four playing four out around Zion there’s something something to be said the Utah Jaz has made it work you know the lineups with marinin and John Collins I think are what we would want to look at with that you know there’s a possibility that you could get this done or that you could just do it and go we’ll figure it out later you know this team would be a little bit light on some depth they wouldn’t have and they still don’t have a ton of money to spend in free agency and guys are getting snapped up and it wasn’t a great free agent class anyway but what if it’s a three- team deal what if there’s a way to truly make this work with a ton of picks player the right kind of players going to the Utah Jets because I don’t think they want brand if you’re trading Larry Markin and you’re you’re trying to Bott him out and be bad you don’t need Brandon Ingram making you better so what about a three team trade I’ve got one for you that tell I want to hear what you think I don’t know tell me what you think coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans today’s episode of lock on Pelicans is brought to you by FanDuel America’s number one sports book I love sports and I love them so much I never want them to stop but as the NBA playoffs are now over and we’re getting fewer games and the sports just they’re not out there as much as we want them to FanDuel is going to let you keep the sports going whenever you want and all you have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime that you’re in the mood there’s still Major League Baseball going on right now the Olympics are coming up you also have tons of soccer on TV always so this summer fu is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com locked on and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball and the official sports book of locked on and thank you for making locked on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well no one’s coming to yall like this breaking down the collective bargaining agreement explaining why the Pelicans are where they are and what it means for their future moves I told you don’t worry about the first apron there was no need to after what David Griffin said some people panicked we did not hear at lock on Pelicans so please subscribe tell a friend about the show and become coming every dayer that means you listen Monday through Friday to locked on Pelicans wherever you get your podcast we are part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day okay so let’s look at this trade Lowry marketing it’s not an easy player to acquire one of the things to keep in mind is Danny aens runs the Utah Jazz and that dude does not like to lose trade so you are going to need to send him things if there is any sort of trade where like the national media would be like oh Danny Ang lost that that trade’s not going to happen it makes him a pain to to deal with but I’ve got a three- team deal that maybe makes everybody happy here and that’s a three- team deal with the Sacramento Kings and we talked about them yesterday with Brandon Ingram so here’s the trade let me pull this up the New Orleans Pelicans we’ll get to them in a minute the Sacramento Kings get Brandon Ingram just get Brandon Ingram the Utah Jazz get Harrison Barnes and Kevin herder and the New Orleans Pelicans get low marinan and John Collins the Utah also get two picks from the Sacramento Kings someone pointed out in the in the comments that because of the picks they owe they can only trade to right now so like that was great thank you for that two picks and then maybe the Pelicans need to send three picks to the Utah Jets so the Utah Jazz get five first round picks Harrison Barnes and Kevin herder Brandon Ingram goes to the Sacramento Kings and the Pelicans get both John Collins and Larry marinin this solves two things one it just puts Lowry marinin on this team you can figure out the positional stuff later you also get John Collins to give you that kind of small ball switchy five that you lost in the Larry Nance Jr trade Utah also sheds about $10 million in payroll this season you know you are could very easily trade at least Kevin herder and definitely I think also Harrison Barnes later so they have a chance to get even more picks from this trade and again they don’t particularly want Brandon Ingram if they’re trying trying to bottom out acquire picks and find their next generational Superstar plus you have Lowry marinan who’s going to be due for a massive contract soon and maybe that’s not the direction that they want to go because that’s going to make you more competitive so five picks Harrison Barnes Kevin herder going to the Utah Jazz Brandon Ingram to the Kings and John Collins and Lowry marinin to New Orleans I don’t know if that’s enough like I don’t know if that’s enough for Lowry marketing let alone John Collins though I don’t think Collins is a particularly like good asset to trade or anything like that that’s what I came up with what do you think would it work would it not work let me know in the comments Down Below on YouTube I’m kind of curious the mic wants to just not be on the camera here and and everything we’ll have this set up a little bit better in the next couple days too so I don’t know let me know what you think like I would do that if you could get Collins and marketing for Brandon Ingram and three first round picks like I would do that trade in a moment like marketing makes that much sense around Zion Williamson you know Collins gives you depth that you are severely lacking in the front court right now and that’s better than anyone on free agency even if I’m not the biggest Collins fan I used to be not anymore so I think that’s maybe the way to go with some of this I’m I’m curious again what you think so let’s switch gears here because what I like about that version of this trade is that the Pelicans are like going for it right and I think there’s something to be said for going for it if you’re New Orleans right now because the West seems very wide open in a way that it hasn’t in a while when you look at some of these teams in the Western Conference you know I think two teams got better the Oklahoma City Thunder got much better I think the Dallas Mavericks got better too and I also think the Pelicans got better with Deonte Murray on this team but teams like Denver got worse Minnesota stayed the same and there were some big question marks around them meh should be better than they were last year but did they improve in kind of what’s an arms race in the Western Conference I think the answer is no Golden State got worse the Clippers got worse losing Paul George the Lakers have missed out on any name that they were linked to so that’s not a good position to be in they were a playin tournament team last year and they haven’t particularly improved even if I really do like Dalton connect for him Phoenix is staying the same you know Sacramento has stayed the same here in this trade scenario they’d get better but but New Orleans gets much better than them getting Larry Markin on the team the Spurs are better but they’re not going to be that competitive you know Houston is just Houston they’re they’re around where they were last year wanting to be competitive maybe they need to make a bigger move we’ll we’ll see with all of that but overall like New Orleans going is going for it at the right time and that’s what I like about them being so aggressive this off season there is no real established like hierarchy in the west maybe outside of OKC in Dallas right now and it took Dallas having kind of a miracle second half to propel them where you look at a guy like Daniel Gafford now he he was not playing well in the playoffs can they rely on him again can they rely on that kind of luck again and I’m not sure Minnesota again great regular season team did not get it done in the playoffs Phoenix getting swept in the first round this is wide open so New Orleans going forward even if the roster fit is clunky with Lowry Markin and CJ McCollum Zion William and some of the others and not having like a true true outstanding Center on the roster I think it’s okay cuz you might be able to get by with it there’s other players that you can get later down the line that I think would really fit and you know New Orleans could be in a position where maybe they go after the guy on the buyout Market or something like that depending on what they have you know left of the mid-level exception when all the dust settles on the Murray trade and whatever the Brandon Ingram trade is going to be so they’ve kind of like pushed their chips in at the right time a lot of times it’s about just timing when your window is think about Houston with James Harden and what their timing was right they just went up against golden state every year and they couldn’t get over that hump because golden state was so good and it’s a shame because that’s a team that could have won a title that Houston team with you know Chris Paul with Harden on there like could have won a title if it wasn’t for Golden State in the way right now there’s no team that you look at and you’re like man they’re going to be you know OKC is going to be there right but again they’re unproven they haven’t won title after title like golden state did where you looked at Houston trying their best to their credit but it was like they’re never going to get over that hump and New Orleans going right in right now like diving into a competitive Western Conference where who knows how good some of these teams are going to be I like that move I like the timing on this when you look at some of the teams that have gotten worse you know the Lakers are one injury away from having a disaster of a season the Clippers losing Paul George and having no way to replace him that’s not a great situation for them Golden State it’s like the end of an era losing Klay Thompson and then just waving Chris Paul right they dumped Jordan pool’s contract essentially is what that became he was the piece they got back that’s kind of wild to think about so when you look at the Western Conference New Orleans is I think in the upper echelon of it like they look like a homecourt Advantage team right now when you look at some of the teams that have taken a step back keep being aggressive and David Griffin and Bryson Graham promised that they were going to do that you know they did they delivered and I think there’s still a lot more time for them to keep delivering on this because not including brand and ingr in a trade for Deonte Murray was a great piece of work that opens up so many other possibilities so go get a guy like Lowry marinin go and make those bigger moves because look and we’ll talk about them in the next segment don’t worry about any these free agents that are signing elsewhere nice pieces sure but they’re like role players e8th nth 10th men I think at best so we’ll we’ll talk about the market drying up and why I’m I’m just not worried about that like not worried about that at all so those are the type of things that I want to those are the players I want to look at coming up here next in let’s do that right now that’s coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans and thank you for making lockdown Pelicans your first listen today and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well and become an everyday that means you’re listening to locked on Pelicans Monday through Friday if you’re an every dayer let me know in the comments down below so free agency we’re in day two of it and you know the majority of this happens right in the beginning but that front Court Market the big man Market is is really drying up when you look at you know the free agents that have kind of signed and things like that I’m also not overly worried about this like at at all when you look at some of the names that have signed you know talking ourselves into Andre Drummond was a thing and I do think he of all the people would be serviceable but he signed but if Andre Drummond was going to make or break the Pelican season there’s bigger issues here again I talked about Goa baz you know he signed resigned with the Orlando Magic that’s someone who averaged Five Points and 4.6 rebounds last season like is that the end of the world that he’s not signing here Mo bomba sounds great in theory right totally I agree but no you know last season in limited games for the Philadelphia six 76ers Four Points 4.2 rebounds he shot one three A game A Center who shoots one three a game isn’t a court spacer doesn’t have court gravity there’s no need to panic over these like end of rotation guys signing with other teams would a little bit of depth be nice yeah but that’s why you trade brain and Ingram either directly getting you the center or indirectly getting you the center where he’s the first move and you get back multiple contracts that you can then flip and turn into the player that you want you wouldn’t trade brain Ingram from Wendell Carter Jr would you trade Kevin herder in a first round pick for Wendell Carter Jr yeah you would and then you could still flip Harrison Barnes somewhere else to improve your roster so that’s how you can could and should look at some of these trades and one of the things that we know that I’ve talked about on the show here and someone who’s talked about this a lot of shid Dua who knows the CBA better than I do you know talked about how some things aren’t quite adding up to make this trade legal with the Pelicans in the Atlanta Hawks so so this trade probably needs to grow a little bit more and it doesn’t need to grow by simply like sign in trading yonas valent chunis or Naji Marshall because think about this right like it’s going to expand in other ways I think it could do that but why would the Dallas Mavericks signing Nai Marshall to their mid-level exception make this a sign in trade where they need to send something back to New Orleans they’re not going to try and help the Pelicans that makes no sense you know they even if they s a fake second round pick and you can put protections on a second round pick where it basic Al won’t convey to the the person you’re trading with why would they make it easier for New Orleans to acquire Deonte Murray like why would they help them acquire dejon Murray even in a signning trade which doesn’t do Dallas any good because they can just straight up outright sign Naji Marshall same thing for the Washington Wizards you know they could help New Orleans in a sign and trade but why would you there’s no reason for them to do that whatsoever there’s no incentive especially when they would need to send something back so this trade is likely going to expand and include a center or pieces that will get you that Center that’s what the brain and Ingram deal to me is for something in the future get a center get a big man and then you’re going to be okay and good to go with it I’m not stressed about losing out on moamba like if he was that good he would be starting he would be playing right he would be in a role that was like better suited to that and that’s not the case there’s still guys that you could try and go and get you know potentially you know there’s there’s Mo Vagner who I think you know as a cheap potentially option could be a good guy precious aoua from Toronto was a guy that you could get too you know there’s there’s names out there James wisman is one that a lot of people have mentioned he’s not good but if you just need to sign a dude to a minimum deal him bismack bomo right are all names that you could go and try and get and I think that’s a situation where you could end up being fine right you could bring back Cody Zeller if you needed to we love the Cody Zeller minutes you know uh a uh social media like Superstar here when it comes to that sort of thing for New Orleans so missing out on some of these guys like yeah I’m not I’m not stressed about it at all here so I don’t think there’s a need to like Panic or anything like that when it comes to free agency I think let’s wait to see what ends up happening with the Brandon Ingram trade because David Griffin has been very creative with those type of deals in the past so yeah the free agent Market’s drying up cool no that’s none of those guys I want starting on this team backup sure but I don’t want anyone that I mentioned playing 20 minutes per game probably he could convince me with drum in but I wouldn’t be thrilled with that that was when I was saying yeah go cheap at the center position but you don’t need to do that now there’s no need to go only cheap at the center position so I’m excited to see what the Brand inam trade is going to going to be and look it’s not that I want to trade him I don’t care if he comes back or doesn’t I want this team to just be the best version of themselves and that’s what I think the front office seems to think too and if they feel they need a center to do that brand Ingram is how you’re going to acquire one because look all the reporting and talking to people with the team basically says like hey CJ’s not going anywhere so I don’t anticipate a CJ McCullum trade that brings in a center and CJ McCullum also has more value here in New Orleans than he would to other teams so that’s something that’s worth keeping in mind too when it comes to that that brain Ingram is probably your most valuable thing you know outside of Trey Murphy herb Jones that you could trade right now well then trade that valuable thing and get something good back you don’t need to go cheap at the center position dream bigger here when it comes to that that’s what I think is going to end up happening here in New Orleans when all of the dust settles and it might not be this week it might not be next week it might drag into the summer and I think that’s going to end up being just fine because as I’ve said you as long as you’re set for training camp and even then these trades can take a little bit and I think that’s what you’ll end up seeing with the brand new Ingram trade that’ll likely be a three team deal so that’s going to do it for this episode of Locked on Pelicans I appreciate y’all so much for listening as always I’m your host Jake Madison Nola Jake on Twitter and I’ll be back with youall tomorrow I want to eventually we’ll get to Eve Mei a little bit more I want to dispel something that makes me much more optimistic about him than I was before that’s something that I’m excited to talk about that’s coming up soon this week un lock on Pelicans as always I’m your host Jake Madison NOA Jake on Twitter and I’ll be back with y’all tomorrow

It’s time for the New Orleans Pelicans to go all in around Zion Williamson by trading for Lauri Markkanen. Jake Madison explains that with the Western Conference this wide open, the Pels should make an even bigger move with a Brandon Ingram trade. Jake looks at how Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz would fit since he isn’t a center. Plus, is it a concern that the free agency market is starting to dry up?

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