The New Orleans Pelicans Should Consider Shane Larkin

How Shane Larkin fits on the New Orleans Pelicans

According to Real GM, Larkin is looking for real minutes and a real role before he would consider coming back to the NBA:

The question is whether he could find those minutes on the Pelicans.

If you look at the Pel’s bench, there are several guys eating up minutes but not doing much with them, including Jackson (12.9), E’Twaun Moore (18.8) and Kenrich Williams (22.3).

Williams could eventually be valuable as a defender and Jackson has had his moments, but there are 54 bench minutes right there which are largely being wasted.

Larkin could potentially be more valuable as a backup point guard than Jackson, and hit a higher percentage of 3-pointers than Moore.

Having Larkin’s scoring would also give the Pelican’s the chance to get Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball a bit more rest, as they are both playing big minutes.

A lighting-in-a-bottle type bench scorer would allow the Pelicans to keep their starting five together on the floor more often, which is a good thing considering they are the most efficient lineup in the NBA.

There’s a lot to like about Shane Larkin coming off the Pelicans’ bench, but it will all come down to fit, whether the Pels think his offense and long-range shooting are more important than Jackson’s defense and whether Larkin feels the Pels will give him a big enough opportunity to walk away from the EuroLeague, where he is well paid and a perennial MVP candidate.

The Pelicans will likely add a couple of players either way, but Larkin is one that could stick and play a pivotal role this season and into the future.