Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans Should Invite Jordan Hamilton to Training Camp

By Matt Cianfrone

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Throughout the offseason the entire New Orleans Pelicans franchise has been clear about what the plan for improvement is going forward. In just about every interview a player, coach or front office member gives the term continuity seems to pop up and the team’s moves have pointed towards that as well with every major rotation player set to be back next season.

But as any good team knows, assuming that a roster is good enough is never the way to go about things, meaning New Orleans should consistently be looking for ways to build better depth. With the release of Toney Douglas from his non-guaranteed deal earlier this month, the Pelicans are well positioned to do just that with a roster spot to use on a player that would do that.

The problem, of course, is that this late in August there just aren’t any definite rotation players left on the free agent market, which makes building depth more about fit and potential than anything else. Fortunately for the Pelicans, there does seem to be a player now available who would be worth a look and could potentially land on the roster if they can just get him in for training camp.

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That player is Jordan Hamilton, the 24-year-old wing player just recently released by the Los Angeles Clippers who has also spent time in Denver and Houston. While Hamilton is far from perfect, which is the reason he is currently unemployed, there are a few reasons that he could work in New Orleans if he is willing to play a small role.

It all starts with Hamilton’s position. While over the last few years Hamilton has seen most of his minutes at small forward, where his 6’7” frame fits well, early in his NBA career the Nuggets used Hamilton as a shooting guard for 48 and 43 percent of his minutes per basketball-reference. Considering the Pelicans have Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Norris Cole to play point guard, the team doesn’t necessarily need a fifth guard to do so making Hamilton possible.

Hamilton would fit well as a player who could provide New Orleans with minutes at shooting guard alongside Evans with bench units if Cole struggles to shoot again or alongside Cole if Eric Gordon gets hurt again and Tyreke Evans moves into the starting lineup, something the team doesn’t really have now as three of their four guards identify as point guards.

Hamilton’s ability to play small forward would also fit well though, considering the uncertainty surrounding Quincy Pondexter‘s knee injury. If Pondexter is unable to play at the start of the season Hamilton would be great competition for recent signing Alonzo Gee for the backup small forward role behind Dante Cunningham.

The fit for Hamilton’s actual game is clear as well.

The one thing that Hamilton has always done well in his career is score. According to basketball-reference, Hamilton has averaged 15.3 points per 36 minutes in his career with a 50.4 true shooting percentage. Adding Hamilton’s scoring abilities, and his 36 percent three-point shooting, into Alvin Gentry’s offense would be a nice boost to an already deadly bench unit.

What has kept Hamilton off of the floor and bouncing around the league, has been his defense. Hamilton often spaces out on that end of the floor and his mental mistakes can torpedo a defense. With his athleticism and length Hamilton should not be as bad as he is, which makes it even more frustrating. The hope in New Orleans would be that Hamilton would join a bench that would just blitz opponents offensively instead of worrying about stopping them and that his defense wouldn’t be as big of a problem.

Of course this could all be a moot point. Hamilton may not have any interest in a training camp invite from the Pelicans, preferring instead to go to a place that he could possibly earn more playing time. Even if he were to join New Orleans the most likely scenario is that he continues to do what he has during his entire career and not earn any playing time.

With the open roster spot to use and with a young player with a bit of potential available the Pelicans should at the very least talk to Hamilton and his agent and see if he would be interested in coming to camp. It is a no-lose situation for a team that should always be looking to add young players, even if things aren’t especially likely to turn out great.

Next: The Most Recent News We Got On Quincy Pondexter's Knee Was interesting?

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