Should the New Orleans Pelicans bring Tim Frazier back?
By Nathan Heck
Tim Frazier may be the team’s resident superhero, but what will the selfless play of the shifty guard provide the New Orleans Pelicans in the future?
Tim Frazier played exceedingly well for the New Orleans Pelicans after being brought in from the D-League, but his future with the franchise is murky, to say the least. Barring any trades this offseason, the Pelicans already have two ball dominant guards under contract for the 2016-17 season, Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans. The duo of established guards will obviously absorb the lion’s share of the ball handling duties, so where does that leave poor Tim?
In his stints with New Orleans and Portland, Tim Frazier excelled at attacking the defense relentlessly off of his dribble and in the pick and roll, but he showed little in the way of evidence to suggest he could thrive when playing off of the ball. His shooting stroke has been far from great throughout his career, and that necessarily limits his ability to space the floor effectively when playing alongside Tyreke Evans.
Frazier was able to shoot well from long range during his time with the Pelicans this season, but it is important to remember that the sample size was small, not only in terms of games played, but also in regards to the number of attempts; looks from long range accounted for just 18.3 percent of his attempts. His career mark of 22.4 percent from behind the arc should be enough to cause the analytics crowd to weep at the very thought of Frazier sharing the floor with Tyreke Evans, who sports a career mark that is not much prettier.
There are a couple of possibilities that would allow the three seemingly incongruent guards to coexist, though, giving Tim Frazier a role to thrive in. With the imminent departure of Eric Gordon on the horizon, it is possible Alvin Gentry considers starting both Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, something that might not be as crazy as it sounds. If that were the case, Tim Frazier could slide into the role of floor general for the second unit, and his skills could be utilized to their full potential.
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Another scenario that would put Tim Frazier in a situation to succeed, albeit in a more limited role, could come to pass if Alvin Gentry sticks to his guns. The coach controversially brought Jrue Holiday off the bench for the majority of the season, and Tim Frazier could coexist with the rangier Holiday. Both players would necessarily see a dip in production as a result of sharing the ball handling duties, but at least it would not be the spacing nightmare a backcourt of Evans and Frazier would create.
The last case is far from perfect. If Tyreke Evans has not fully recovered by the time the regular season gets underway, Tim Frazier should be able to fill his shoes rather nicely. The two players are strikingly similar, and the transition to Frazier from Evans would be fairly painless. It is highly unlikely the Pelicans will know whether or not Evans will be ready to go come November until long after a decision on Frazier needs to be made, though.
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Tim Frazier was a bright spot for the New Orleans Pelicans during the final stretch of an extremely disappointing season, but it is unclear if the lead guard will have a place on the roster come next season. After his unexpected success, though, the Pelicans should at least make an effort to carve a role out for the youngster; Tim Frazier earned that.