New Orleans Pelicans cap sheet after Anthony Davis trade
The New Orleans Pelicans are entering a new era after the Anthony Davis trade. Led by David Griffin, the team’s plan to build a sustainable winning culture with Zion Williamson can now move forward.
The New Orleans Pelicans are seeking a quick rebuild by trading Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. Selecting Zion Williamson with the first overall pick will enable the team to move past the Anthony Davis saga a bit more easily.
Filling out the roster around Williamson, Jrue Holiday, and the trade haul is the next step of the process. Ensuring Williamson’s tenure is more successful than the Davis years will be difficult. That process of building a winning roster around Williamson will also determine the fate of the new front office.
David Griffin got his asking price for Davis. The rough outlines of future plans are starting to take shape. The state of the New Orleans Pelicans roster for next season is set. The next few years are still uncertain. The New Orleans Pelicans could still ship a couple of the Lakers assets elsewhere.
The trade will be finalized in the first week of July. The New Orleans Pelicans 13 man roster will have a total cap hit of approximately $93 million after the trade and accounting for Zion Williamson’s contract. Keeping the fourth pick would push the Pelicans cap number to $100 million.
That 13 man roster costing $100 million does not account for Stanley Johnson or Cheick Diallo, as both are free agents. However, that cap hold number includes Jahlil Okafor‘s team option ($1,702,486) and Julius Randle‘s player option ($9,073,050).
Randle is likely to opt out and has been mentioned in Phoenix Suns rumors. That would bring the Pelicans cap number closer to $90 million. That is plenty of room to find an actual contributor or two for a competitive team.
The best part of that $90-$100 million is spent on Jrue Holiday. He is the team’s top earner, with a salary of $26,996,111. Solomon Hill is the second highest paid Pelican, but only for one season at most.
The New Orleans Pelicans will have another active off-season next summer. Only four players will be signed; five if the team keeps the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. Those five players would account for less than $60 million in cap charges. Open roster spot holds would affect the team, but not much.
The five players are the fourth pick, Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart. Brandon Ingram is a restricted free agent, as would be Frank Jackson. Christian Wood and Jahlil Okafor would be unrestricted free agents worth a second contract. E’twaun Moore and Solomon Hill would be moving on.
dark. Next. Should the team trade the 4th pick?
The New Orleans Pelicans have only Holiday and Williamson on the books for the 2021-22 season. Holiday is also likely to opt out since that year is a player option. One more big payday as he turns 30 is merited for the heart of the team.