New Orleans Pelicans Development Goals For Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker
The New Orleans Pelicans drafted Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to join Zion Williamson in the chase for championships.
The New Orleans Pelicans could have used the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft on several more hyped prospects. Instead, the team traded that fourth pick for two later selections, drafting Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to join Zion Williamson.
Alexander-Walker and Hayes showed their chemistry immediately in Las Vegas Summer League action. Fire passes and thunderous dunks overwhelmed the Pelicans news cycle for weeks. Even Zion’s earthquake steal and dunk pales in comparison to that Hayes rim rocker.
The New Orleans Pelicans have plenty of depth this season which will make it tough to get these two on the court at the same time in meaningful minutes. The team has playoff expectations this season. They cannot afford to sit veteran players and risk losing streaks. That is not the culture the new regime intends to build.
Alexander-Walker decided to not participate with the Canadian National Team during the FIBA World Cup tournament. He will be fully focused on cracking the into the reserve rotation. The coming training camp battles with Josh Hart and Frank Jackson will be intense.
Alexander-Walker is not expected to play much this season. Just being competitive entering the season would be deemed ahead of schedule progress. However, after his Summer League displays, it would not be unsurprising to see him given a chance early in the season.
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Alexander-Walker earned first-team honors in Las Vegas. He was quite possibly the most impressive guard all summer. He exploited spaced to create opportunities for others but showed he could finish when necessary. He will be able to run the point for the Pelicans in spurs soon, but perhaps not to start the season.
He should get minutes when the Pelicans have big leads. Should he shine in that limited run, he could get the keys to the second unit after the trade deadline. Realistically, the New Orleans Pelicans have to hope is ready for that role to start next season.
Jaxson Hayes has a steeper developmental climb to become a capable NBA backup big man. He might also play more minutes than Alexander-Walker. Derrick Favors will need his rest. Nicolo Melli is unproven at the NBA level. Jahlil Okafor is playing for his NBA life for a reason.
If Okafor cannot play 20 solid minutes to spell Favors, Alvin Gentry will get creative with his frontcourt rotations. Hayes is a slight frame with half the muscle of Rudy Gobert but he can run with second unit centers.
After that Summer League dunk session, no one will doubt his finishing. If Hayes can show discipline and not reach himself into fouls and out of rebounding positions, he could make an All-Rookie team.
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It would not be a surprise to see both Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes at NBA All-Star Weekend in the Rising Stars game. It would be a surprise if neither are featured in the reserve rotations. That would be a sign the delightful showings in the Las Vegas desert were just a mirage.