The New Orleans Pelicans are one of many teams that will be looking for creative ways to fill out their roster if the salary cap goes down.
With important max extensions on the horizon, the New Orleans Pelicans will have to be efficient with their cap space if they want to have a deep roster.
Obviously some of this talent will come from the draft, as the Pelicans have a chest of picks that they can use to plug holes or take risks on high upside talent.
But they also need low-cost veterans who can play, as few NBA rookies come league-ready and the Pels stars are young themselves.
David Griffin and the Pelicans will have to get creative, find hidden gems or take flyers on low-risk projects that could pay dividends.
One such project could be Jordan Bell, the 25-year-old center/power forward who most recently played for the Memphis Grizzlies before being waived in early March.
Bell is currently signed with the Capital City Go-Go of the G-League but undoubtedly wants to prove he can still play in the NBA.
Bell had a promising start to his career with the Golden State Warriors, playing in 57 games with 13 starts and it looked as though he could have a future in the NBA as a role player on a good team.
Bell averaged a block in 14.2 minutes per game in his rookie season, defended multiple positions and looked like the type of defensive wing that has a lot of value in the modern NBA.
But he saw his role diminished in Golden State and has since bounced around the league without finding a way to carve out a role for himself.
Bell has a coupe of of traits the New Orleans Pelicans are looking for, but also has some glaring weaknesses that he’d have to improve to re-establish himself in the NBA.
New Orleans Pelicans: Jordan Bell has some intriguing skills
Bell made the NBA on the strength of his defense, and if he is to make it back, it will be because of his work on the defensive end.
Bell is the All-Time leader in blocks at the University of Oregon and was Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, so we know he has some talent as a defender.
Bell has the ability to guard bigger guys, which makes him a fit as a small-ball center at times, which is a role he played somewhat successfully at Golden State.
He’s just 6-foot-8, undersized for a center, but has a 7-foot wingspan, so he can hold his own.
Bell is strong enough not to get pushed around and can run most centers off the floor on the fast break. He’s the type of gritty player that can play lockdown defense and not need the ball.
Bell also has experience that the young Pelicans lack, as he has played in the NBA Finals, and even at just 25, has more playoff experience than most of the Pelicans.
He’s been in the Final Four and the NBA Finals, so Bell has performed on the big stage.
Jordan Bell’s defense and experience are not the problem.
The problem is that he adds next to nothing offensively, has absolutely no range on his shot and isn’t quite quick enough to stay in front of the best small forwards.
Bell is just a 22.2 percent 3-point shooter for his career, so he can’t spread the floor and though he has decent takes to the rim, it’s hard to get by a defender when he can sag off and doesn’t have to worry about a shot.
If you want to be a player who can’t shoot at all, then you better do something else extremely well, and so far Bell’s defense hasn’t been enough to make up for his offensive limitations..
For Bell to have a chance, he has to develop at least a league average 3-point shot. He’s only 25, so he still has time to get better, but he shoots free throws like Shaq, which is not a good sign.
If he could improve as a shooter, Bell could be an intriguing possibility for the Pelicans.
New Orleans Pelicans: How Jordan Bell could fit
The Pelicans definitely need defensive help, especially at the forward position.
They had problems stopping bigger forwards, as they don’t really have a power forward who defends well. Obviously no one really stops LeBron, but the Pelicans were particularly bad at doing so and looked physically overmatched in the process.
Bell would bring some muscle to the defense, potentially slowing down some of these larger forwards.
Bell could also get some run as a small-ball center against certain lineups. The Pelicans are a team that plays with pace, and Bell can run the floor and present mismatches, while not giving up too much defensively.
The Pelicans have plenty of scoring, so Bell’s offensive limitations wouldn’t be as pronounced in lineups full of shooters.
His defensive versatility would give the Pelicans a lot of lineup options, and they could potentially create their own “Lineup of Death” with Bell playing the role of a poor man’s Draymond Green.
That may be what the Warriors had in mind when they traded for Bell on draft night, but the difference is that Green is also a good passer and at least a passable 3-point shooter.
It’s telling that none of the NBA franchises grabbed Bell off waivers to give him a look, but that may be the kind of motivation Bell needs to improve his game and prove his doubters wrong.
Bell will likely get looks by several teams next year, may get a contract, almost certainly some Summer League invites, and if things break well for him, he’ll eventually find a home in the NBA.
Bell has traits that the New Orleans Pelicans need and would be a low-risk project that could pay off.