re: Primary Pelicans starting lineup has one of the worst Net Ratings in league

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Yes


Don't just factor that Bridges is the better player, but also the financial flexibility of a Bridges at $23 mil vs a BI at $50mil or whatever the number will be.

I just fail to see how we should not want the better player at $23mil compared to the lesser player at nearly $50mil

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We would be so much better. Bridges knows how to play within an offense and can play both on ball and off ball. I would throw in a lot of picks if we could also get Claxton

A lineup of CJ Herb Mikal Zion Claxton would take this team to the next level.

Right now we have a starting lineup that has a lot of really good players but it's less than the sum of it's parts because the players don't fit at all.

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he's proven he can take the offensive game up a notch to nearly match ingram; however his defense has sorely taken a huge hit the past 2 years when he's asked to do more.

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If he were in New Orleans, he would be asked to do less than Brooklyn, and thus could get back to more of his DPOY form.

On the scoring topic, Brandon Ingram has played 8 seasons, 464 games, and he has 7 games of 40 points or more.

Mikal Bridges, in just the last calendar year, has 6 games of 40 points or more.

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Now the financial ramifications I agree with (for the next 2 years), but if you're making that trade - the window is 2 years still because his next paycheck is going to also be ridiculously expensive.

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Most NBA windows are very small, so I'd take that 2 year window and give it a go.

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Ingram is the superior player, comparison alone

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I just don't think he is. The thing that BI is best at, Mikal is better at it than BI, and that's scoring. BI definitely has passing/facilitating without question. But I think the defense of Bridges tops that pretty easily, especially since neither will be your #1 option on an offense.

Ingram is a good player. I don't think he's a max contract player, primarily because he doesn't shoot 3-pointers at volume and he's not a plus defender. He could mitigate both of things, and has at times, but I don't think the Pels can challenge for a title if Brandon Ingram, a one-time All Star, is the highest paid guy on the roster who takes the most shots.

I also think the Pels starting line up would benefit a lot from clarity of purpose. If you swap out Brandon for a plus defender who shoots 8-10 3-pointers a game for half the money, Zion's role as primary attacker comes into focus. Now, that makes you reliant on Zion which is another kind of risk, but I do think it's the best chance Pels have to make a run at the title. Zion has to become Giannis-esque. If he can't, he can't. But that's your best path forward.

Absolutely agree 100%

We do have a small sample size of it working and that wasn’t even with a Bridges level second banana.

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Here's the thing, I agree here with everything you said here, I don't know either if you can build around Zion, but... I do know, and I'd hope everyone does too, that you absolutely cannot build a consistent winner with BI as your best player. That's why the play is to move BI.

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Absolutely. No one is disagreeing here that Z is completely unreliable and is just as likely to tank our chances of winning a title as he is at leading us to one. But he’s just better and has the higher ceiling. It was clear last year and it’s starting to get clearer this year yet again as he’s getting in better shape.