New Orleans Pelicans: Tre Jones Could be the Perfect Backup Point Guard

The New Orleans Pelicans need to find a backup point guard and Tre Jones from Duke fits the profile of the pass-first guy they are looking for.

The New Orleans Pelicans will enter the 2020 NBA Draft in an enviable position. With no glaring holes and plenty of young talent, the Pelicans can go any direction they want.

One school of thought is to swing for the fences, to just grab the guy with the most talent regardless of fit and figure it out.

The other is to try to fill one of the small holes in the roster, weaknesses that will get worse as players like Frank Jackson, Derrick Favors, E’Twaun Moore and Kenrich Williams leave in free agency.

The New Orleans Pelicans will likely need a defensive-minded wing, a bruiser center and a backup point guard.

They can fill these holes via free agency and the draft. There are several interesting backup point guards available as unrestricted free agents, but if the New Orleans Pelicans decide to plug this hole in the draft, Tre Jones could be their guy.

The Pelicans will likely choose at 12 or 13, which some might say is too high for the Duke point guard, but he has the skills and pedigree to be a starter in the league and would fit nicely with what the New Orleans Pelicans already have.

The Pelicans could decide to opt for a shooter to fill the vacancy that will soon be left by J.J. Redick, or they could find a complimentary big to play with Jaxson Hayes.

If they want to go with defense, a wing makes sense, as it would free Brandon Ingram to focus on his offensive game, which bears an eerie resemblance to a young Durant.

But Tre Jones fills an immediate need and could help one of the Pelicans’ biggest weaknesses, which is their bench.

Here are Jones’ strengths, weaknesses and how he’d fit on the New Orleans Pelicans.