NBA rumors: 5 teams that should be selling at the NBA trade deadline

5. New Orleans Pelicans

At 15-21, the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t dead in the playoff race just yet. They haven’t been a good team, but they’re only four games out of the 8-seed at the halfway point of the season, and their minus-0.4 point differential suggests they’re not far from turning things around if they can start closing out close games.

With that being said, names like Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick have repeatedly popped up in NBA trade rumors, and someone like Eric Bledsoe can hardly be considered part of New Orleans’ long-term plans. The Pelicans have a young core to build around between Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr.; now it’s a matter of putting the right pieces around them.

If they can’t make up ground in the playoff hunt over the next week or so, don’t be surprised if the offers start rolling in for Redick (an expiring contract with value as a veteran sharpshooter) and Ball (a young, dynamic passer who’s improved his shooting despite the complications that come with his status as a restricted free agent this offseason). David Griffin and Stan Van Gundy would love to make the playoffs this year, but everyone in this franchise knows the bigger focus is building a stable foundation around Zion that will last for the foreseeable future.