Entering this offseason the New Orleans Pelicans had a few important decisions to make. The first was to choose a new head coach after they fired Monty Williams shortly after losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Now with Alvin Gentry hired to run the Pelicans next season, the team must move on to making decisions on a few free agents before turning their attention to the NBA Draft and free agency. With that in mind let’s take a look at the decisions the Pelicans have to make and try to figure out in what direction they may go now that Gentry is on board.
The Restricted Decisions:
Norris Cole: Cole is the tougher of the two restricted free agents that the Pelicans have to make a decision on. On one hand, he could be great insurance for the Pelicans if Jrue Holiday still isn’t right after his leg injuries or if something else happens to either Eric Gordon or Tyreke Evans. On the other hand, if everyone stays healthy it is hard to see how there are many minutes available for Cole with Holiday, Gordon and Evans in the backcourt. There is also the question of how much of what Cole did is sustainable as he shot way better in his time in New Orleans than at any other point of his career and that just doesn’t seem likely to hold up.
More from Pelicans News
- How will the Pelicans round out rotation without Trey Murphy III
- Why you can’t blame Brandon Ingram for all Team USA’s failures
- New Orleans Pelicans avoid potential disaster with latest injury reports
- 3 New Orleans Pelicans whose role will increase next season
- Pelicans getting the fans involved with their upcoming festival
Cole should be able to fit pretty well in whatever type of offense Gentry creates so I think much of this depends on how much interest Cole sees from elsewhere and what kind of offers he receives, as at the end of the day the Pelicans could use some of his money on a wing and potentially get more production from them next year.
Jeff Withey: I think Withey returns mainly because he should be pretty cheap and the Pelicans need a backup center. Withey’s not a great athlete but he should be able to get up and down the floor enough if he is pushed into action in Gentry’s up-tempo attack.
Unrestricted guys:
Alexis Ajinca: This one is easy. Ajinca is probably going to be overpaid and the Pelicans seem smart enough to not be the team to do that. Considering how his lack of athleticism made him borderline unplayable in up-tempo games there just doesn’t seem to be a way he returns with the Pelicans getting ready to play faster.
Omer Asik: There will be more coming on the idea but the Pelicans reportedly think that Asik can be their version of Andrew Bogut. With that in mind it seems likely he returns for at least next season and possibly beyond. With the Pelicans looking like they will be hiring Darren Erman to run their defense this season, keeping Asik could go a long way towards a defense that ranks in the top half of the league this season.
Luke Babbitt: I could absolutely see Babbitt returning for the minimum because of how good of a shooter he is. While he can’t defend anyone, Gentry surely knows the value of shooting after spending time in Golden State and as an end of the bench option a guy like Babbitt can’t hurt.
Jimmer Fredette: I honestly hope that Jimmer heads to Europe where he will be a star and make a ton more money than he could in the NBA but my guess is he sticks on the end of someone’s roster next season. That said I find it hard to believe that roster will be the Pelicans considering his season in New Orleans.
The Player Option:
Eric Gordon: It would take a minor miracle for Gordon to opt out of his contract even after recreating himself as an elite shooter in the second half of last season. That said his shooting should be a valuable weapon in Gentry’s attack this season.
Next: Gentry's coaching staff is coming together
More from Pelican Debrief
- How will the Pelicans round out rotation without Trey Murphy III
- Why you can’t blame Brandon Ingram for all Team USA’s failures
- Ranking 10 worst starters of the Anthony Davis era
- New Orleans Pelicans avoid potential disaster with latest injury reports
- 4 Most underrated players on New Orleans Pelicans current roster