Ranking Pelicans' Top Trade Targets After 2023 NBA Playoff Loss

The 2022-23 NBA season wasn't a wasted one for the New Orleans Pelicans, but it will keep their fanbase up at night wondering what could have been.

Before the injury bug reared its ugly head, the Pelicans hinted at a breakout season that would reverberate across the Association. Their 18-8 sprint out of the starting block certainly suggested the league's next contender was rising before our eyes.

But that early momentum never sustained, so the leap never happened. While last season's group escaped the play-in tournament and was knocked out of the opening round, this iteration couldn't repeat that success and was instead eliminated from the play-in.

While the Pelicans could hope for better injury luck and further development going forward, they have enough trade chips to seek out external help. New Orleans might want to take a massive swing this summer, and if it does, the following three names should top the wish list.

3. O.G. Anunoby, Toronto Raptors

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With Brandon Ingram putting up All-Star numbers, Trey Murphy III making a massive leap and Herbert Jones locking up just about anyone he comes across, the Pelicans aren't exactly hurting for wings. Still, adding another impact two-way forward is something virtually every modern team should do, and New Orleans is no exception.

Pelicans fans can think of O.G. Anunoby as a souped-up version of Murphy. Murphy is a good defender; Anunoby is one of the NBA's best. Murphy is a slightly better shooter, but Anunoby has the deeper offensive bag.

If the Raptors want a young player back in an Anunoby trade, Murphy might be an option, but New Orleans has different prospects to dangle if it wants. Or, if the Raptors want, the Pelicans could build a formidable offer around their pile of draft picks.

Either way, they should give an Anunoby deal plenty of thought. They aren't far away from making a major breakthrough, and he could help that ascension reach even higher.

2. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 05: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics was awarded the Red Auerbach Award before a game against the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden on April 05, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

New Orleans has enough up-and-coming talent on the roster that it shouldn't feel compelled to make a trade. Instead, it can afford to be choosy and only pursue the caliber of player who can significantly elevate the team's ceiling.

Jaylen Brown is one of those players.

Over his seven seasons in Boston, he has grown from a solid support piece to the second-best player on a team with legitimate championship aspirations. He can carry an offense on his own or serve as an all-purpose, high-level sidekick. When fully engaged on defense, he can pester just about any type of player.

The Celtics surely aren't eager to deal Brown, but if Boston gets bounced out of the playoffs early, then a trade wouldn't feel impossible. It would take an enormous trade offer to get him, but the Pelicans are one of the only win-now teams who could assemble that type of package.

1. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - MARCH 08: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks reacts to a call during the first quarter of an NBA game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on March 08, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

OK, so this isn't so much a pie-in-the-sky idea as it is a five-star dessert orbiting in space. Still, the Mavericks were so colossally disappointing that there has to be a universe in which Luka Dončić searches for an exit this summer.

He is (at least) one of the five best players on the planet. He should be running somewhere near the front of the championship race, if not holding down pole position. Instead, Dallas isn't even an afterthought in title talks. That has to give him some pause, right?

New Orleans should certainly hope so. As tricky as it is to find a trade package remotely as valuable as a superstar trade candidate, the Pelicans could assemble one that makes the Mavericks think. If Dallas can somehow find the key to keeping Zion Williamson healthy, it could theoretically replace one once-in-a-generation talent with another while also bringing back the picks and prospects needed to help cover for Williamson's injury risk.

While it's hard to say what exactly the Pelicans could hold out of a Dončić deal, they have enough depth to confidently feel their roster wouldn't be entirely gutted. New Orleans would probably have at least a three-headed monster with Dončić, Ingram and CJ McCollum, and if draft picks drove this deal (with Williamson, of course), the Pels should have sufficient support around the league's next Big Three.