NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Deals Pelicans can make to land Scoot Henderson

NBA Trade Rumors: 5 deals that the New Orleans Pelicans can theoretically make to help them land Scoot Henderson in the 2023 NBA Draft. 

With less than a week and a half before the 2023 NBA Draft, one of the bigger headlines is going to revolve around whether the New Orleans Pelicans are able to make the splash move that allows them to draft Scoot Henderson.

According to a recent report, the Pelicans are interested in making a significant move up the draft board with Scoot as their target. New Orleans owns the 14th pick, so the move would be considered large – and costly.

The New Orleans Pelicans have to be sold on Scoot Henderson as a superstar

If this is a move that the Pelicans end up making, they have to be 100 percent sold on Scoot as a future superstar in the NBA. There can’t be any questions. For what it will cost for the Pelicans, Scoot not only has to be the real deal but he likely has to be the next face of the franchise.

Assuming that the Pelicans will at least explore the option, there are several possible deals to land Scoot. Let’s explore five of them.

The Pelicans trade their draft future to Charlotte Hornets for Scoot Henderson

You’d have to imagine that this is something that the Charlotte Hornets could be interested in. The Pelicans, in somewhat of a desperate move, could trade five first-round picks (three of their own, two of Milwaukee’s) to the Hornets in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft – or, effectively, Scoot Henderson.

This feels like a lot for a player that may or may not be a can’t-miss superstar in the NBA but at this point, the Pelicans seem really high on him. Therefore, they have to believe he can be their next face of the franchise. That’s not going to be Zion Williamson; that feels as close to over as it can be.

If the Hornets aren’t interested in taking control of New Orleans’ draft future, there are other ways in making a deal work. But first, let’s shift our focus to getting a deal done with the Portland Trail Blazers.