5 teams that could make a compelling trade offer for Damian Lillard

1. New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans watched Anthony Davis waste away with no postseason success before cashing in to send him to the Los Angeles Lakers to win a championship. They don’t need to repeat the same pattern with Zion Williamson. If Lillard is open to the idea of pairing with the young big man, they have to be willing to go after him.

New Orleans went 31-41 and missed out on the playoffs this year, so it may take some convincing for Lillard to sanction the trade. However, the Pelicans have assets to work with to make it worth Portland’s while.

Brandon Ingram, who averaged 23.8 points and 4.9 assists in his second season with the team, would have to headline the deal. The 23-year-old forward has All-Star ability and is the right age for the Blazers to build around.

Salary-filler would also be involved, but the real juice of the trade would come in the draft picks the Pelicans picked up from the Lakers when they traded Davis. This would be the perfect situation to use those for.

So the Pelicans would get an elite guard to play off Williamson while Portland would get a young All-Star and a slew of future picks to work with for a rebuild.