How a Strained Salary Cap Would Affect the New Orleans Pelicans

How it Affects the Pelicans’ Roster

If the cap does lower to just over $100 million, it will affect the way the New Orleans Pelicans build their roster in 2020-21 and beyond.

The cap will likely spike big in the 2021-22 season. According to Hollinger:

"“On the other hand, any dip in the cap in 2020-21 would also engender an artificial jump in 2021-22. This is because the actual revenue from 2020-21 would likely greatly exceed that reflected in the cap number, and the CBA includes catch-up provisions to even those numbers out over the course of the deal.”"

This could cause a lot of teams to wait to spend their money, as they’ll likely have much more and will have a better free agent class on which to spend it.

The owners and players will likely smooth that number so that there isn’t an artificially large bump, but either way more teams will have money to spend in 2021-22 than they will next season.

The New Orleans Pelicans may decide to speed up the timetables of Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, two players on team-friendly contracts that may be able to fill the roles left by their departing free agents.

They may decide to offer a longer deal to backup point guard Frank Jackson, an unrestricted free agent who is due for a modest raise and could fill a need.

With some veteran players looking at smaller deals, the New Orleans Pelicans may have more negotiating room with guys like Moore, who may have to settle for the minimum.

We may see players like Zylan Cheatham and Josh Gray get a chance, and it may even affect how the Pelicans approach the draft.

With three picks in the second round, the Pelicans may be inclined to choose more experienced players who have a chance to help right away as opposed to long-term projects.

There are obviously more important things than sports when the world is in the middle of a deadly pandemic, but the NBA and sports in general are going to be greatly affected.

There is no telling how this will all work out, but the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to spend their money efficiently if they want to build a contender around their young core.

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!