The New Orleans Pelicans have to find good value for money if they want to keep their treasure trove of young talent. Here are their three best contracts.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a dilemma that most teams with they had: they have too much talent.
Obviously a team can never have too much talent, but what they can have is too much payroll.
Jrue Holiday is set to make over $26 million in each of the next two seasons.
Brandon Ingram is about to sign a max extension. Bench player J.J. Redick is making $13 million next season and max extensions for Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson are looming.
The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have some tough decisions to make.
They can’t keep them all, which is why it important for the Pelicans to find guys on smaller contracts who can produce.
They will be scouring the NBA for veterans who might take less to play on a good team, undervalued young players and projects that might thrive in a new environment.
Even if the New Orleans Pelicans decide to trade Holiday at some point (ouch), they will still have three guys in Ball, Ingram and Williamson who will be on max deals.
If they want to have a deep, competitive roster, they have to be efficient with how they spend their money.
The window to win a title is always small for mid-market teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, who are unlikely to go deep into the luxury tax even if they are winning.
This is why some hope the Pelicans will go “all-in” now, to trade for another star while Ball and Zion are still on their rookie deals.
The New Orleans Pelicans currently have some of the best value players in the league, a theme that will have to continue if they want to keep their core and still compete.
Here are the three best contracts on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Jaxson Hayes, Center
Contract:
2019-20 $4.86 million
2020-21 $5.1 million
2021-22 $5.34 million
2022-23 $6.8 million
Rookies who produce on their original contracts are one of the most valuable commodities in the NBA.
Veterans get paid handsomely, which is why every team needs a few young guys who can play, leaving more money open for the high-priced vets.
Jaxson Hayes is just such a rookie.
Hayes is averaging 7.5 points and four rebounds in just 17 minutes per game, but figures to be a big part of the New Orleans Pelicans’ future.
With Derrick Favors and his $17.65 million contract likely to walk in the offseason, Hayes is certain to see a lot more time off the bench or as a starter next season.
While he needs to develop a shot and play better on defense, Hayes’ per-36 numbers are enough to get the New Orleans Pelicans excited.
Hayes is averaging 15.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and two blocks per 36 minutes, numbers that would make him a huge value at just $4.86 million.
The question is whether Hayes can stay on the floor long enough to get those numbers, as he has a problem with silly fouls and is often out of place on defense.
Even if Hayes is coming off the bench next season, his contract is great value, especially when you look around the league and see what guys like Bismack Biyombo ($17 million) and Cody Zeller ($14.4 million) are making.
The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to find guys like Hayes who can contribute while they are still on their rookie deals.
Josh Hart, shooting guard
Contract:
2019-20 $1.93 million
2020-21 $3.49 million
Josh Hart‘s $1.93 million paycheck for this season represents one of the best values in the entire NBA.
There are few players making so little who are as productive as Hart, who has evolved into the New Orleans Pelicans’ most important bench player.
Hart is averaging 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds off the bench for the Pels. His rebounding numbers rank 6th in the NBA for guards and he plays plus-defense against multiple positions.
If you look at other players in Hart’s salary range you’ll find guys like Jordan Poole, Jacob Evans, Dzanan Musa and Pat Connaughton. Hardly an All-Star team there.
Hart represents the exact type of player the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to find if they want to stay competitive for the long-term.
He produces big numbers on a cheap contract while playing one of the most valuable positions in the NBA.
Hart is one of the New Orleans Pelicans who may have to be sacrificed to the salary cap Gods in order to keep their Big-Three, but for now he is one of the best contracts in the league.
Zion Williamson, Power Forward
Contract:
2019-20 $9.75 million
2020-21 $10.24 million
2021-22 $10.7 million
2022-23 $13.53 million
It’s hard to say that any human making over $9 million a year is underpaid, but when he is scoring 23.6 points and pulling down 6.8 boards a game, that’s exactly what he is.
Zion Williamson is currently one of the best value contracts in the NBA, as most players who are putting up those kind of numbers are already on big contracts.
This is both a good thing and a scary one, as the New Orleans Pelicans might feel pressure to win now, to put a team around Zion that makes him want to stay long-term.
But the Pelicans have to avoid the trap of adding high-priced veterans in an effort to appease Zion, as this formula has had disastrous consequences in the past.
Take the mid-market Cleveland Cavaliers, who were so desperate to keep LeBron James that they kept surrounding him with the high-priced veteran du-jour, never allowing for LeBron to grow and play with guys his own age.
The New Orleans Pelicans must balance the need to win now with the future, as Zion is more likely to stay on a winning team that is full of guys with whom he has chemistry.
Zion’s contract puts the Pelicans in a unique position, as their best player is not their highest paid, which will definitely change when and if he signs an extension.
The Pelicans have three years to build a winner or win a title while Zion is still on his rookie deal.
They can’t wait forever to make a splash in a trade or free agency, but they also shouldn’t make rash movies a la the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The handling of Zion’s contract situation will be the single-most important thing for the New Orleans Pelicans’ front office.
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