A lot of teams were interested in signing or trading for Lonzo Ball in the NBA offseason, but only the Bulls closed the deal. We saw how he dramatically resurrected his career with the New Orleans Pelicans. He has shown versatility, confidence, determination, and some serious improvement every year. He averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists while shooting 41.4 percent from the field last season.

The Pelicans had every right to match any offer made towards Ball since he was a restricted free agent. However, they chose not to match the offer sheet the Chicago Bulls made.

Instead, they agreed on a sign-and-trade deal that got them Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a future second-round pick.

Satoransky is a downgrade compared to the players that the Pelicans were rumored to be chasing. The Pelicans entered the offseason with one goal in mind: try to win now by surrounding young superstar Zion Williamson with all the talent they can get and this certainly does not help.

Here are some of the players that they could have gotten in a Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade deal:

Pelicans strikeouts:

Chris Paul

Before heading to the Phoenix Suns, The Houston Rockets traded Chris Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook. OKC were never seen as a team that could make the playoffs but CP3 had other plans in mind.

Paul helped the Thunder clinch the fifth seed in a tough Western Conference as he averaged 17.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals in his lone season in Oklahoma.

After his stint with the Thunder, he took on the challenge to lead a young Phoenix Suns squad that were obviously missing a leader as they just could not get over the Playoff hump. He was often praised by youngsters Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton about how big of an impact he is at this point of their careers.

Fresh from leading the young Phoenix Suns team to the NBA finals, the Pelicans were rumored to be interested in reuniting with their prodigal son in Chris Paul.

They were high on Chris Paul reunion as they think they can replicate the success that the Suns had. CP3 is one of the best leaders that the game has ever seen. He is an elite floor general and playmaker and is obviously an upgrade over Ball and Eric Bledsoe from last season.

Imagine a Zion Williamson and Chris Paul tandem, it certainly would rock New Orleans as CP3 is one of the best lob passers in the game.,

The Pelicans hired Willie Green as their head coach in hopes of helping them lure Paul to New Orleans because of their ties. They reportedly offered a 3-year contract worth $100M to Paul, per Brian Windhorst.

Paul ultimately went back to Phoenix on a four-year deal that could be worth up to $120 million.

Kyle Lowry

The Pelicans cleared their cap space by trading away Steven Adams and Bledsoe in hopes of signing Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors.

Lowry is viewed as a leader who the same as Cp3, can help a young team contend. He brings a ton of veteran leadership and championship experience as he averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in six games against the mighty Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals. Lowry certainly knows what it takes to win a title and would help instill a winning culture for the Pelicans .

Kyle Lowry can be a binding force and a guiding voice when the team goes through the ups and downs of the regular season and the Playoffs.

The former Raptor could have helped the Pelicans in their defensive ones as he is one of the best guards who defend at a high level. Because of his build, the point guard is a pest towards opposing teams with his on-ball defense. He also averaged at least one steal in the last 11 seasons.

Zion and Lowry could have been a good fit for each other as Lowry is also a good off-ball player.

Kyle Lowry ended up signing with the Miami Heat on a three-year deal worth $90 million.

What a blow for the Pelicans as they missed out on both Lowry and Paul.

Spencer Dinwiddie

As the Pelicans missed out on two of the biggest fishes in the free agent market, Spencer Dinwiddie could have been a solid option.

It was reported that the Pelicans were also rumored to be interested in Dinwiddie, per Marc Stein 

Signing Dinwiddie could have been a nice boost for a young Pelicans squad. Before playing just three games and injuring his knee last season, Dinwiddie was on a roll with averages of 20.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in the 2019-2020 season.

They also missed out on Dinwiddie as he ended up with the Washington Wizards.