OKC Thunder: 2 surprise Al Horford trade destinations

OKC Thunder trade partner No. 2) New Orleans Pelicans

Unlike the Dallas Mavericks, the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t coming into the offseason fresh off a postseason loss — they didn’t even qualify for the play-in.

That said, similar to the Mavs, NOLA has disappointed fans these past two years when considering how talented their stars are and how short of a distance they’ve managed to go with them.

Like our stance in the previous slide, a veteran presence with ample experience in the winning department could do the youthful Pelicans some good, and Horford could be a perfect addition to help them get over the hump of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Now, yes, many believed Steven Adams would be that guy for them when the OKC Thunder traded him down to New Orleans last offseason.

Sadly, he wasn’t.

Of course, watching the team play throughout the year, it was evident that the Big Kiwi was not a suitable match alongside Zion Williamson in the frontcourt, as both are players who do most of their damage on the offensive side of the ball — in the case for Stevens, all of his damage — in the paint.

Instead, what they could do to better surround the young star with better fitting talent is trade for a big man partner who can space things out, thus unclogging the lane to allow the soon-to-be third-year four to seamlessly attack the rack.

Horford and his career 36.8 3-point conversion percentage could do the trick.

So long as the OKC Thunder are once again willing to take on a few bad contracts in return, NOLA as a landing spot for Horford seems rather realistic in our eyes.