The New Orleans Pelicans Must Make a Decision on Darius Miller Soon

The New Orleans Pelicans Should Waive Darius Miller

The New Orleans Pelicans should waive Miller and find someone better, it is that simple.

Miller is 30-years-old, and while he has shown signs of improvement and can space the floor, the Pelicans can almost certainly find someone as good for less money.

There are any number of players coming out of the draft who might be able to crack the rotation, though there are few who would average 25.5 minutes per game as Miller did in the 2018-19 season.

There are also several veteran free agents who may be willing to take less to join a up and coming team and can provide similar stats and ability as Miller.

While Miller is a plus 3-point shooter, he doesn’t do much else, and the Pelicans are more desperate for defense and rebounding on the wing than they are scoring.

The New Orleans Pelicans already have plenty of guys who can score, and while floor spacers are important, so are defenders.

The Pelicans have the 20th best defensive rating in the NBA and the 4th highest scoring offense, so if they have to prioritize one skill, it should be defense.

Ideally the New Orleans Pelicans can find a 3-and-D type who can do both and won’t have to settle for a one-dimensional player like Miller.

Even though the Pelicans are familiar with Miller, there is no guarantee he will come back from his injury at 100 percent, so taking a risk on free agent or rookie still might not be as risky as betting on Miller’s health.

Free agents like Derrick Jones Jr. or even Jeff Green could put up similar stats and will likely be making less than Miller.

The New Orleans Pelicans have options, so they don’t have to risk an important salary slot on a guy coming off a blown Achilles.

The Pelicans will have some tough decisions to make very soon.

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!