New Orleans Pelicans Guards Depth Chart: Are There Enough Minutes?
By Cody Taylor
Who is excited for Nickeil Alexander-Walker?!? New Orleans Pelicans fans are!
After the Los Angeles Lakers/Atlanta Hawks/New Orleans Pelicans Anthony Davis trade haul was finalized and Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Marcos Louzada Silva were officially Pelicans the Summer League fun began!
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Averaging 27.7 points, 4 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.7 steals and 1 block per game in two games, you can see the great effort and value we got at #17 overall. What has impressed the most from Alexander-Walker has been his high motor, his two-way play, and his astonishing court vision. He has paired with fellow rookie Jaxson Hayes for great passes leading to some great dunks.
After two good seasons with Virginia Tech, it is easy to see the appeal of Alexander-Walker’s skill set and how it will be useful to the future success of the team. With a collegiate field goal percentage at 46.4% and a collegiate 3 point percentage of 38.3%, he will benefit the team nicely offensively.
| Season | School | Conf | G | GS | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 33 | 33 | 8.4 | .449 | 4.5 | .392 | 1.9 | .730 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 10.7 |
| 2018-19 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 34 | 34 | 11.8 | .474 | 4.6 | .374 | 4.2 | .778 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 16.2 |
| Career | Virginia Tech | 67 | 67 | 10.1 | .464 | 4.5 | .383 | 3.1 | .763 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 13.5 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/13/2019.
If his defense is anywhere close to what it has been in Summer League when the NBA season gets here the New Orleans Pelicans would definitely be able to say Alexander-Walker was a draft steal at 17 overall.
The former second-round pick has had a relatively good but quiet NBA career thus far since being drafted in 2011. After playing 38 games with the Boston Celtics that drafted him, he has had stints with the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls before landing with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016.
Finding a solid home in the Big Easy, Moore has reached career highs in his 3 years in New Orleans. Playing all 82 games and starting 80 in 2017-18 coinciding with career highs in points (12.5), rebounds (2.9), and steals (1) showed the growth you want in a player though his game totals dropped in the 2018-19 season.
Holding good career totals in free throw percentage(76.3) and three-point percentage(39.2) should net him decent minutes down the rotation but with all the new guard additions to the New Orleans Pelicans could leave him in limbo but hopefully his experience with the team and what he has helped them do shouldn’t go unnoticed.
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 22 | BOS | NBA | PG | 38 | 0 | 3.0 | .381 | 1.2 | .378 | 0.2 | 1.000 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| 2012-13 | 23 | ORL | NBA | SG | 75 | 21 | 8.0 | .396 | 2.6 | .340 | 0.8 | .797 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 7.8 |
| 2013-14 | 24 | ORL | NBA | SG | 79 | 3 | 5.8 | .428 | 2.0 | .354 | 0.9 | .765 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| 2014-15 | 25 | CHI | NBA | SG | 56 | 0 | 2.5 | .446 | 0.7 | .342 | 0.4 | .600 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.7 |
| 2015-16 | 26 | CHI | NBA | SG | 59 | 22 | 6.6 | .481 | 1.8 | .452 | 0.6 | .629 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 7.5 |
| 2016-17 | 27 | NOP | NBA | SG | 73 | 22 | 8.5 | .457 | 2.8 | .370 | 1.0 | .770 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 9.6 |
| 2017-18 | 28 | NOP | NBA | SG | 82 | 80 | 10.1 | .508 | 3.7 | .425 | 0.8 | .706 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 12.5 |
| 2018-19 | 29 | NOP | NBA | SG | 53 | 36 | 10.0 | .481 | 3.3 | .432 | 1.1 | .763 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 11.9 |
| Career | NBA | 515 | 184 | 7.1 | .458 | 2.4 | .392 | 0.8 | .744 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 8.0 | |||
| 3 seasons | NOP | NBA | 208 | 138 | 9.5 | .485 | 3.3 | .410 | 1.0 | .746 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 11.3 | ||
| 2 seasons | ORL | NBA | 154 | 24 | 6.8 | .410 | 2.3 | .346 | 0.8 | .780 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 7.1 | ||
| 2 seasons | CHI | NBA | 115 | 22 | 4.6 | .472 | 1.2 | .423 | 0.5 | .618 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 5.1 | ||
| 1 season | BOS | NBA | 38 | 0 | 3.0 | .381 | 1.2 | .378 | 0.2 | 1.000 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/14/2019.
Frank Jackson didn’t exactly get the start to his NBA career like he would’ve wanted. After his draft rights were traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the New Orleans Pelicans on draft night in 2017, he underwent surgery on his foot that initially kept him out until January 2018 but had a second foot surgery that stole his entire rookie season from him. After the recovery from the second surgery, Frank Jackson finally made his pro debut in Summer League 2018 where he popped off for 13/6/1 and 1 steal before an ankle injury kept him out for the rest of the tournament. With 2 foot surgeries, any precaution from the team should be welcomed and warranted.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/14/2019.
After keeping him out for the rest of the Summer League, he finally made his NBA debut in the 2018-19 regular-season opener against the Houston Rockets. With one season of NBA experience under his belt going into his age 21 season, Frank Jackson will have a lot to prove to the New Orleans Pelicans to get minutes and continue his growth. If Jackson can keep working back and improving his productivity he could be a long-term piece in the future of the New Orleans Pelicans. Trevon Bluiett went undrafted in 2018 after 4 years with Xavier and after signing a Summer League contract spent his season with the G League. After 7 games with the Westchester Knicks, the Pelicans transferred Bluiett to the Salt Lake City Stars to finish out his season before he underwent thumb surgery in February 2019.
| Season | Tm | G | GS | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | TOT | 24 | 7 | 10.4 | .398 | 5.6 | .381 | 2.0 | .915 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 12.2 |
| 2018-19 | SLS | 7 | 7 | 11.3 | .392 | 5.7 | .475 | 2.6 | .889 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 13.9 |
| 2018-19 | WES | 17 | 0 | 10.0 | .400 | 5.5 | .340 | 1.7 | .931 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 11.5 |
| Career | 24 | 7 | 10.4 | .398 | 5.6 | .381 | 2.0 | .915 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 12.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/14/2019.
Holding decent totals in his 24 games in the G League, hopefully, his shooting percentage does increase above the 39.8% but holding a 38.1% 3 point percentage will give a lot of hope for a Pelicans squad whose 3 point shooting ranked in the bottom 3rd of the NBA in 2018-19. He will probably be a G League candidate again for the New Orleans Pelicans but as long as he shows steady improvement, the work should pay off.