Report: Pelicans are in an ‘arms race’ with Thunder for draft picks

The New Orleans Pelicans reportedly are focused on acquiring more draft capital ahead of the March 25th trade deadline.

According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Pelicans are focused on accumulating more picks than the Oklahoma City Thunder so they have ammunition to trade for a star to play alongside Zion Williamson.

“New Orleans has looked into adding more pieces who can bolster a run to the postseason, such as inquiring about Kelly Oubre Jr., which was reported in January and league sources confirmed to B/R,” Fischer wrote. “But at this juncture, rival teams believe the Pelicans are primarily focused on returning more draft capital to their already-stocked war chest. ‘They just want to accumulate more and more picks,’ said one league source close to the situation. ‘They’re in an arms race with OKC.’”

The Pelicans have some interesting pieces that they could trade at the deadline, including guard Eric Bledsoe, Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick.

The Pelicans reportedly have been shopping the three players, but they have not flipped any in a deal to this point.

New Orleans is currently 14-19 and the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.

While a playoff run isn’t out of the picture, the Pelicans could focus on maximizing their assets to make a run at a star this coming offseason.