A deep look at Pelicans’ cap situation and how Anthony Davis factors in

The New Orleans Pelicans won the NBA Draft Lottery, raising this year’s off-season excitement exponentially. The amount of salary cap space available to David Griffin and Trajan Langdon is all dependent on a possible Anthony Davis trade. Let’s break down the numbers.

The New Orleans Pelicans‘ new regime has been busy making positive moves to build the right culture throughout the franchise. Approximately forty percent of NBA players will enter some form of free agency, when including those with player or team options for next season. Those potential players will take notice of the Pelicans’ newfound commitment to recognized legitimacy, whether or not Anthony Davis is still on the roster.

New Orleans has reached its historical peak attractiveness as an NBA franchise. The Pelicans have two legit stars under contract now in Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis. They will soon most likely add Zion Williamson on a rookie scale contract. However, Davis has asked to be traded.

David Griffin has publicly stated he will seek and audience with Davis in order to convince him to stay in a Pelicans uniform. Davis has yet to publicly warm to the idea, but is working out with Holiday this off-season. Holiday can keep persuading Davis while in the gym; Griffin has to pull off at least one more move to truly convince Davis to stay a few more years.

Zion Williamson is a great prospect, perhaps the most hyped since Davis seven years ago. Zion could be the best prospect until the 2030 draft, or whenever LeBron’s sons enter the NBA Draft. However, Davis wants to win now. No 19 year old rookie with an inconsistent jumper has ever been the missing piece for an NBA Finals run.

So, VPBO Griffin and GM Langdon have to upgrade the team around the Davis, Holiday, and Zion trifecta. That is presumably the most desirable outcome at New Orleans Pelicans HQ, but the front office must have alternate plans in place. One of Langdon’s first stated goals was ”sustainted excellence” for the New Orleans Pelicans. In his media session after being hired, Langdon was detailed in his vision, stating:

"“David talked about bringing in high-class people that are about the right things and doing things the right way, and moving forward in the same direction….As long as you have the right people and they have the right vision, with the same goals, you can do special things….Sure, we want to win, but want to build this organization the right way, with the right people, and have sustainable excellence.”"

Langdon also gave some insight into the team’s approach after winning the NBA Lottery.

"“I don’t think you can be in a win-now mode, when you have to develop a culture and there are a lot of things that need to be done, bringing in the right people on the bus and making sure we’re headed in the right direction. I think you can’t skip steps. If you look back, a lot of organizations when they try to skip steps, it puts them behind….Griffin has talked already about that we’re looking for small wins day-to-day….That’s one important thing we did in Brooklyn that led to the success there. It wasn’t ‘go out and get big-name players.’ It was ‘We’re going to build from within, develop and find diamonds in the rough that we think our coaching staff can develop’ from a G League player into a potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate (Dinwiddie), or a three-point champion (Harris)."

That does not sound like a general manager trying to lure Kevin Durant to New Orleans. The Pelicans will spend more time scouting and recruiting talented players that have less hype today but will provide more value next season. But adding that valuable talent to create a culture of sustained excellence costs money.

Gayle Benson has effectively given Griffin a blank check to fill out the front office and facilities. Though she can quickly throw money at a facilities issue, the salary cap means building a roster in more complex ways than building, well, a building. As stated above, how much money the Pelicans have to use for roster construction all depends on Davis.