New Orleans Pelicans: 5 Toughest Decisions Before 2021-22

#3 The Melli Mess

Nicolo Melli is an important part of the New Orleans Pelicans’ bench for many reasons. He is the type of stretch-four they need to keep lanes open for Zion and the Pelicans’ penetrators.

He also comes cheap.

Melli will be making just $4.09 million next season, which is pretty good value for a big who can shoot three’s.

The problem is that other teams value this skill too, so someone is likely to offer Melli a substantial pay raise when he hits free agency in 2021-22.

Melli is a nice player, but not the type of guy who is going to move the needle for the New Orleans Pelicans.

As much as we love Melli, he’s probably going to have to go.

This is one that will have to play out, as Melli is already 29-years-old and may not get an offer big enough to price him out of the Pelicans’ range. But this might be the only big contract the “rookie” ever gets, which means he’ll likely get more than the Pelicans are willing to pay.

If Melli is not part of the long-term plans of the Pelicans, then they should trade him before next year’s deadline in order to get maximum value.

We’d hate to see the fiery Italian go, but it’s not likely he’ll be a Pelican by the end of next season.

#2: The Hart Pickle

This one is a lot tougher.

Unlike Melli, a one-dimensional bench guy who is a luxury for the New Orleans Pelicans, Josh Hart is vital to the Pels’ bench and their future.

Hart does a little bit of everything for the Pelicans, scoring 10.2 points a game while pulling down 6.5 rebounds and playing plus-defense.

He also does it cheaply, as Hart’s $1.93 million for this season represents one of the best value contracts in the league.

Hart is a great example of the type of “value for money” contracts the Pelicans will need if they are going to put a deep bench around their max contracts.

Hart’s salary will jump up to $3.49 million next season, which will still be great value for a guy who does so much for the Pelicans.

Then he becomes a free agent.

While Hart is a great value player on his current contract, he will likely play himself into a much larger one when he signs his next deal.

The New Orleans Pelicans will have to decide if Hart is worth the type of money he is going to command, which may be in the Redick range of $10-14 million per year.

The Pelicans have to be careful with their bench deals, as they need guys who can play, but have to save money for the inevitable max deals their stars are going to command.

If the Pelicans decide to trade Hart, his salary is not enough to get back a similarly talented player, so they’d likely have to package him as part of a bigger deal or just take picks in return.

How they handle Hart will be indicative of how far the New Orleans Pelicans will go to win a title. Can they keep their core and still have a deep bench? It won’t be cheap.

But the toughest decision is in the starting lineup.