New Orleans Pelicans roundtable: Free agency

4.What, oh what, will we ever do with Tyreke Evans this season?

Preston: Isn’t it nice to have a versatile player with the willingness to tackle any role?  I’m sure we’ll see Gentry experiment with Tyreke in every capacity, but he performs best with the ball in his hands, and the offense at his disposal.  

My opinion will not be a popular one, but I really enjoyed Jrue’s performance off the bench this season.  He put up remarkable numbers and efficiency against second units and an Andre Iguodala type role would serve him well.

This will allow Tyreke to run the point with the first team offense.  It’s not a long term solution by any means, but it’s the best course of action for the pieces the Pelicans have this year.  With shooters on the perimeter in Buddy Hield and Quincy Pondexter, Tyreke and AD will make excellent pick and roll partners, and Tyreke’s basket crashing will close the defense and provide opportunities for Buddy and Q-Pon on the perimeter.  The Pelicans were most successful with Tyreke at the point in 2014, and his play also makes Omer Asik playable at the five.

This will also drum up the most trade value possible for Evans at the deadline.  After the free agent melee, a couple of contending teams are going to go home having missed out on their backup PG, and come February, we will have the ammunition to fill that need for them in exchange for an asset.  Here’s looking at you Milwaukee, Memphis, Orlando and Detroit.

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Brendon: Unless I’m missing something, the bench is going to be in complete shambles if the team doesn’t get anything meaningful back for him. We don’t know how the roster will fill out, but we know those bench lineups will likely feature Alexis Ajinca and Tim Frazier (assuming he’ll be back). And considering Dell Demps’ proclivity for creating value deals out of thin air, we have to assume one of Toney Douglas, Alonzo Gee, James Ennis and Luke Babbitt will figure heavily into the Pelicans’ rotation next year. If none of these guys seem like they can group together to form an efficient offense, that’s because they actually can’t. You’re right. To make the bench chug forward, the Pelicans have to keep Tyreke or completely crush it in free agency.

Rick: It’s kind of hard to believe the Pelicans haven’t already tried to dump him to this point. So let’s take that out of the equation. If he’s not tradeable, he has to be the shooting guard combo with Buddy Hield. It’s tricky which one you start, but Tyreke has to become the right fit for whichever spot he takes. More than likely, he’ll be a backup shooting guard with the authority to attack the basket and facilitate the offense alongside Tim Frazier or whoever the backup point guard is next year.

Rory: Tyreke is at his best when he is the best player on the floor, and as such his game doesn’t work when he’s driving right past Anthony Davis. However, Tyreke off the bench makes a lot of sense. The Pelicans get a sixth man devastating second unit defenses and Davis gets more touches in the starting five. Coach Gentry can mold the second unit offense around Tyreke’s strengths while also hiding his weaknesses. To paraphrase The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; yes, Tyreke would be on the B-squad, but he’d be the leader of the B-squad.

Next: Is QPon the answer?