NBA Rumors: Karl-Anthony Towns To Pelicans For Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas & Draft Pick In Proposed Deal

One of the dark-horse trade destinations for Towns before the 2022 NBA trade deadline is the New Orleans Pelicans. In a recent article, Corey Rausch of Fansided's Hoops Habit came up with a hypothetical blockbuster trade idea that would enable Towns to team up with Zion Williamson in New Orleans.

In the proposed trade scenario, the Pelicans would be sending a package that includes Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, and future draft compensation to the Timberwolves in exchange for Towns and Josh Okogie.

Towns would be an incredible acquisition for the Pelicans. His potential arrival in New Orleans would boost their performance on both ends of the floor and give them an All-Star caliber center that perfectly fits the timeline of Williamson. In Towns, the Pelicans would be getting a very reliable scoring option under the basket, a monster rebounder, on-court facilitator, quality rim protector, and floor-spacer.

Last season, Towns averaged 24.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN.

Trading Ingram would be a tough decision for the Pelicans, but it would be worth it if it would help them keep Williamson happy and become a more competitive team in the Western Conference.

"Pairing Williamson with a floor-spacing big like Towns could unlock the floor for both players to feast on opposing defenses," Rausch wrote. "Okogie is a low-key great snag here for his on-ball defense and toughness. Eventually, David Griffin needs to stop playing the piano and cash in his chips to make his young star happy."

Meanwhile, the proposed trade deal would be worth exploring for the Timberwolves, especially if Towns expresses his desire to leave. Instead of keeping a disgruntled superstar on their roster, the hypothetical blockbuster would allow them to acquire another young All-Star in Ingram, a veteran center in Valanciunas, and future draft assets.

Ingram could join D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards and form the core of the next title-contending team that the Timberwolves would try to build in the post-Towns era. Valanciunas may not perfectly fit the timeline of their young core but at 29, he has enough productive years left in his career to see all of them blossom into legitimate superstars in the league.