So the Suns and Pelicans got swept.
Pelicans dont really have to panic, but their roster around Zion is very flawed and their other "stars" are kind of dumpster juice. They have 2 upcoming picks (not including the pick this draft) from the Bucks. The 2025 pick could be extremely valuable if bad luck breaks (which is a decent % chance given their age) and the 2027 pick could be elite, not to mention a swap in 2026. They can definitely swing a high level trade if they want to.
CJ McCollum had a horrendous playoffs. The dude is *** on D and is now becoming *** on offense. He's got 64 million guaranteed over the next two years. Yikes.
Brandon Ingram had an equally horrendous playoffs. I'm still on the acquire Ingram idea, or at least looking hard into it. This could be an opportunity to buy low on his expiring contract.
Dyson Daniels is slightly intriguing rookie contract to look into. The Pelicans need offense badly and they completely benched Dyson in Game 4 and only played 18 minutes in the entire series. I know he was rated as one of the top defenders this past season. Zero offensive game and an extremely mediocre wide open shooter. Not sure what I would pay for him, but he has to be available.
I think Jones/Murphy are probably untouchable as they are perfect role players and I would assume Zion is as well. Him healthy is still enough to swing a series.
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What kind of picks would the Jazz have to add to this base package to make it workable? Sexton would give them a bonafide 2nd scoring option next to Zion. Collins give them a contract placeholder they can then use their draft capital to upgrade off of and he can probably be workable next to Zion (or they can convince themselves of that).
For the Jazz you are upgrading size to be a massive team. You could have a starting lineup of Keyonte/Hendricks/Ingram/Lauri/Kessler. Would make drafting a Sheppard or Dillingham much more palatable.