The New Orleans Pelicans have rebounded from a poor start to the 2026-27 season, as they have now won four consecutive games to claw back to the .500 mark (4-4). New head coach Jamahl Mosley appears to have stumbled upon a formula that works, balancing out a roster filled with talent but just couldn’t seem to put it all together.
With the Pelicans being better than expected in the early goings of this new campaign, perhaps they would be inclined to pull off a consolidation trade to try and upgrade the roster. One potential target that has come up for New Orleans is Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who should be available on the trade market yet again with Sacramento headed for yet another losing season.
“The Pelicans, for example, they have the salaries and type of players that the Kings would want where you could give up a Jordan Poole, a $34 million expiring salary. Maybe you can give up a future first-round pick and unload someone else. Maybe it’s a three-way or a four-way deal where you can give up Dejounte Murray in that case,” Siegel said on the latest episode of the Clutch Scoops show.
“There’s a lot of room for the Pelicans here to either go after Sabonis or another big man on the market.”
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It’s not quite clear though, from a basketball perspective, as to why the Pelicans would trade for Sabonis. Zion Williamson remains entrenched as the starter at the four, and New Orleans needs size and rim protection at the five.
This explains why New Orleans went with Yves Missi as their starting center to begin the campaign, and they’ve now called upon Karlo Matkovic, a floor-spacing shot-blocker, to start with Missi out injured.
Sabonis’ presence could also stunt the development of Derik Queen, the man the Pelicans traded a valuable first-round pick for to get in the 2025 NBA Draft. Suffice to say, the Pelicans might be better off looking elsewhere if they were to pull off a trade — perhaps involving Murray, so that they could fully turn over the point guard position to Jeremiah Fears.
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