ESPN talks about winners and losers this summer: Rockets win KD completely, Lakers attract Ayton to be unsatisfied

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Now the Hawks have configured Trae Young in the rotation lineup: Dyson Daniels, DPOY voted second, Alexander Walker/Jeren Johnson/Last pick Rissache, as well as defensive centers Porzingis and Okonwu. Trae Young's defensive efficiency has never been higher than the 18th in the league so far. Now, as long as the backcourt combination of Trae Young and Kennard is avoided, it is expected to break through the average in the new season.

But these operations are not even the best move for the Hawks this summer. On draft night, they robbed the Pelicans of 10 upward trading picks (up from 23rd to 13th), and the Pelicans actually accepted them all! Now, the Hawks have an unprotected first-round pick with the higher pick between the Pelicans and the Bucks in 2026. Given the continued turmoil of the Bucks and the Pelicans' weak position in the Wild West, the pick is very likely to fall into the lottery zone. Referring to my draft pick value chart, the difference between the 13th and 23rd picks is equivalent to the value of a No. 28 draw, and the Hawks are almost destined to be the winner of the trade. Don’t mention their playoff journey year after year. In the open East, the Hawks, which has completed a comprehensive upgrade in the new season, is expected to hit the top four seeds. The only minor flaw is the loss of Larry Nance Jr. (a secret reinforcement for the Cavaliers bench), but this does not damage their brilliant offseason performance.

Loser: New Orleans Pelicans

If the Hawks become the winner due to the "robbery" on draft night, then the robbed party should naturally be on the list of losers. The new management team, led by Joe Dumas and Troy Weaver, seemed to have seriously misjudged the team's current status and lineup status and made a puzzling decision. The Pelicans ranked bottom in the Western Conference this season (14th). Although their health will definitely be better than 21 wins and 61 losses in the new season, it is hard to imagine how many strong teams they can surpass. Even if the Suns fall further, the 13th Spurs, the 12th Trail Blazers and the 10th Mavericks will strengthen this summer. The Pelicans need to surpass these three teams (or two of them plus another higher-ranked team) to barely squeeze into the last bus of the playoffs. If they fail to enter the playoffs, the Pelicans will give the Hawks a lottery. And the draft pick they risked to trade eventually selected Derek Quinn, who might overlap with Zion's position. The rookie may be able to grow into a star, but its adaptability to the core of the existing lineup is questionable. The technical characteristics of the two inside players between the third and fourth positions are highly similar: Can the combination of Zion and Quinn open up the space? Can the defensive end limit the opponent?

If this is just the only failure of the Pelicans during the offseason (no matter how unwise), it may not have been a big blow, but other operations of the new management also lack coherent strategic goals. They traded McCollum and Olynik for Poole and Sadiq Bay, and exchanged second round picks with the Wizards. After being reimbursed for the season after Sadiq Bay suffered an ACL torn season, he might be able to help him recover, but in essence he replaced McCollum with Poole. Although Poole is eight years younger, advanced data shows that the two are currently worth the same, and Poole's contract is 34 million more than a year. Signing Looney in free agent market is even more suspicious. His performance after leaving the Warriors' unique system for the first time in his career is unpredictable. Especially when multiple non-space players are on the court at the same time, the Pelicans' offensive space will be extremely congested: Looney, Zion, Quinn and starting center Missy have a total of 922 career games (Quin University data + other three NBA data) only hit 51 three-pointers.

Original text: KevinPelton

Compiled by: Li Taibai