The New Orleans Pelicans entered this year’s free agency period with money to spend. However, instead of chasing big-name talents to lucrative, long term deals, they found bang for their buck. Let’s grade the deals made.
There were some alluring names in this year’s free agent class, make no doubt about that. It’s understandable that some fans wanted the New Orleans Pelicans to pursue star talent to team-up with the roster at hand. But they didn’t go down that route, and honestly, it was the right decision to make. Did you really think David Griffin was going to do otherwise?
The team is young, raw, roster spots needed to be filled up with established talent that have experience in this league. Guys that won’t disrupt the growth of the young core and guide them along the correct path to success.
The team desperately needed perimeter shooting, they got one of the best marksmen in NBA history. Griffin emphasized the want for a “young veteran”, they got an extremely efficient rotation piece still at the young age of 27-years-old. And Trajan Langdon played his part with his scouting prowess, finding talent in the EuroLeague that could make a significant impact on this team.
Griffin and company did all this without breaking the bank and got each player on a reasonable term (one via trade). Let’s dive deeper into each acquisition and grade them accordingly.