One of the New Orleans Pelicans’ lower-profile signings has the potential to be one of its most important additions on the court.
This summer was a homecoming for one New Orleans Pelicans signing. In a move that sent shockwaves throughout the NBA, Langston Galloway left the bright lights of the Big Apple to come back home to the Big Easy.
Now with obvious hyperbole aside, this homecoming is a win for both sides. For Galloway he gets to play close to home and will be able to get quality minutes that could lead to a larger contract next offseason. From the New Orleans Pelicans’ perspective, they get a quality guard, but possibly more importantly, they get a player who chose to play in New Orleans.
The Pelicans franchise is one that is not deeply rooted in basketball history. Often times it has been an afterthought for top free agents. Now since 2002, the Pelicans have a had a few marquee signings. The biggest signings in Pelicans history probably go in some order of Peja Stojakovic, Ryan Anderson, and Tyreke Evans. Not an eye popping list of names, but respectable.
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The thing is though that 2 of those players did not resign, and its unlikely Evans resigns. Point being that even when New Orleans has gotten free agents, it hasn’t worked out. Galloway represents a new trend in the NBA and the type of player New Orleans should continue to go after.
Langston Galloway – going into his third year – is an intriguing player. He has carved out the reputation of a defense first point guard that can occasionally provide offense. Now what would be great for the Pelicans is the potential improvement that Galloway may be able to provide offensively.
Stuck last season in a slow paced, outdated Knick offense that was devoid of spacing, the hope is that a faster tempo will improve his offensive output. Now, Galloway should not be expected to become an All Star by any means, but improvement should not be surprising. Galloway’s contract was a bargain even if his play stays the same, but given possible upward trajectory, it has the potential of an outright steal.
In the above clip, you get a glimpse of Galloway’s defensive potential. One thing on film that he does very well is anticipating where the ball handler wants to go out of pick and roll. Once he reads the screen, he immediately reacts and gets to the spot. He also does a good job of keeping his hands up and using his massive wingspan to disrupt passes.
This also makes it harder for the recipient to attack off the catch. For a player of his build, Galloway also moves quick laterally. He does have a tendency to overcommit which leaves him vulnerable to giving up open jumpers.
Above is a clip that demonstrates the strength of Galloway. Dwayne Wade is of course one of the strongest guards in the league. In this clip he attempts to overpower Galloway, but he fails and is forced to settle for a contested fadeaway.
In this clip you get a glimpse of the shooting ability of Galloway. His career three point shooting numbers are average at best, but theres still a hope for improvement. Galloway shot 47% on corner 3s last year, but only had 60 such attempts. There certainly are sample size concerns but Galloway does have the makings of a potential free agent steal.
For many fans, “winning free agency” means getting the top players. However for teams like the Pelicans, this mentality may cause more harm than good. Winning free agency for a small market team usually equates to overpaying for middle tier talent that limits your ceiling. When teams overpay they’re investing three important things, time, money and years.
When on a strict timeline as the Pelicans now are, they cannot afford to waste any of those things. Think of the Galloway signing as a chess move. Not every move is meant win the game, some are used to setup another move. Here’s how Langston Galloway could fit into the long-term plans for New Orleans:
Option 1
Option 1 is the most likely scenario, where Galloway plays a bit better than last year and stakes out a consistent spot in the rotation. He provides good depth, opts out of his contract, and the Pelicans resign him to a new deal in the offseason, at which point he solidifies himself as a backup guard. If this does occur, Galloway could also become one of the Pelicans few tradable assets as well.
Option 2
This is the least likely case where Galloway far and away exceeds expectations, emerging as a top defensive guard and shooting around 38 percent from three. Galloway emerging as an elite three-and-D guard will raise his price tag significantly. The Pelicans SHOULD have the first crack at resigning him though, and it will be up to the team if they want to shell out the cash.
Option 3
Now we have reached the scenario in which Galloway completely bottoms out and becomes a liability for the team. This would be the worst case for New Orleans. But the short contract and modest figures make that result is livable.
Of course, this is not taking into account injuries. Early in the year, with Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans out indefinitely, Galloway will have the opportunity to state his case for minutes. Langston will likely be behind E’twaun Moore and Tim Frazier in the pecking order to start the year, though all three guards will get a chance to shine. The hope is that one of them can break out.
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Galloway will still get ample time to prove he can be that breakout player. From the Pelicans perspective, it is a “Can’t Lose” with Galloway: at worst you’re getting a decent rotation player, and at best you may have an elite backup guard. Either way, kudos to both parties for finding a situation that benefits both team and player.