New Orleans Pelicans: 5 Toughest Decisions Before 2021-22

#1: What do to with Jrue?

As a basketball player, Jrue Holiday is a perfect fit with the New Orleans Pelicans.

He plays intense, All-NBA defense on the perimeter. He is both a scorer and a playmaker who can get other people involved.

He is a veteran leader who has the ear of the young team and became the face of the franchise after the Pelicans traded Anthony Davis.

The only problem with Holiday is his salary.

Holiday is set to make $26.1 million next season and has a player option for $27 million for the season after that.

While Holiday may decide to take less annual money in his next deal in exchange for more security, he is still young and good enough to get a final deal for his career that will be large enough to price the Pelicans out.

This doesn’t mean they have to trade him, especially in some ludicrous deal that takes back extra years for a worse player. Gary Harris anyone?

If the Pelicans do decide to move Holiday, it has to be for an expiring contract, otherwise there is no point, as he is still a very good player who they need.

Luckily they don’t have to make this decision right away, as only Ingram will be jumping up in salary next season and he’ll be more or less taking the slot currently occupied by Favors on the payroll.

It’s that $27 million player option in 2021-22 that will be tough for the New Orleans Pelicans to swallow, as that is the year when Lonzo, Hart and Melli will all be due for pay raises.

The Pelicans can go over the salary cap to re-sign their own players, but would potentially be looking at a healthy luxury tax bill if they do.

It’s possible they can re-structure Holiday’s deal to give him more long-term security while lowering his annual average salary, but that’s really up to Holiday.

Would he take less each year to stay with the Pelicans long-term? If not, they may have to trade him now, which hurts because he really is the heart and soul of this team.

Handling the salary cap is tricky when you have so many young players due for pay increases at the same time. Most teams can’t carry more than three max players and the Pelicans are unlikely to potentially go 100’s of millions into the tax to do so.

They aren’t the Lakers or Warriors, so they will have to find ways to keep their stars without sacrificing depth.  I don’t envy David Griffin.

If the Pelicans want to contend for titles for years to come, they must find ways to get value for money.

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