2021 NBA Pointless Trade Idea

Raptors get: 2021 Pelicans 1st rd pick (should be around #10), Steven Adams (2yr/$35m); Pelicans get: Rodney Hood (1yr/$10.8m (non-guaranteed)), Aaron Baynes (1yr/$7.4m player option), Raptors 2021 2nd rd pick

The Raptors really need to move on from Aaron Baynes and while Steven Adams has been the object of much ridicule for a while now (slow, clogs the lane, too expensive), I think even the worst of Adams' qualities are not a bad fit for the Raptors: I think Adams at the FT line, can work with Van Vleet, Anunoby and Siakam. And an edge of the lottery pick from New Orleans would give them two bites in the lottery this year (dude, I'd aim for Baylor players, I thought that whole team was amazing, they all looked like prospects to me), which replenishes their deep bench that has been so effective for the Raptors in recent years. 

For the Pelicans this is about adding money to spend as opposed to bringing back a player. Hood and Baynes can be cut, so is it worth a 1st rd pick to free up $17m in cap space currently going to Adams (*)? The real question: do they want to re-sign Lonzo Ball and is he worth a top ten pick to keep him in house? I'd say yes all the way around. If they have to get rid of Adams to keep Lonzo, then do it and if it costs the #10 pick, then do it. What good is, say, Jalen Johnson (Duke) to them if they're stuck with two more years of Adams and don't have Lonzo? I'd rather plant my flag with Zion and Lonzo (and *gulp* Ingram!) and go from there. They've got future draft picks coming from the Lakers and Bucks, and I would suggest those picks would be best used as tools to remake their roster, rather than as a source of new players. 

Or if not Lonzo, is Lauri Markenen the kinda guy they want to give $17m to? I think Markenen (half shooter/half slasher) fits with Zion and/or anchors a 2nd string when Zion is out. Would the Bulls let him go? They added Vucevic ($24m) at the deadline and this summer is the time to give LaVine an extension (starting around $25m, I'd guess), so if the Pelicans throw Markenen 4yrs/$80m, do the Bulls lock up that trio or do they let the Pelicans snatch him away? (50/50, I'd say) 

I know giving up the #10 pick just to dump Adams just to re-up a guy they've already got sounds daffy, but I think its the right move for the Pelicans. And for the Raptors, an underappreciated veteran and two newbies is a great replacement for Hood and Baynes. 

(*) Would the Pelicans rather move on from Adams or Eric Bledsoe (at $18.1m next year)? I think they'd move either/both, if they could. But in this version of the deal, I think the Raptors can work with Adams, whereas Bledsoe doesn't pair well with Van Vleet. Is there $18.1m of disposable contracts they can get for Bledsoe? I doubt it.