The New Orleans Pelicans Should Extend Lonzo Ball this Offseason

The New Orleans Pelicans should prioritize Lonzo Ball’s extension this summer instead of waiting for him to hit free agency.

The future is now for Lonzo Ball and the New Orleans Pelicans.

The ascending point guard is part of the Pels’ long-term plans and they would benefit greatly from trying to lock him up now.

Not only would this show Lonzo Ball that the Pelicans are interested in the trio of he, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram long-term, but there are several other compelling reasons to try and extend Lonzo in his first summer of eligibility.

New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball is playing out of his mind.

One of the biggest reasons to lock Lonzo up now is that he is playing the best basketball of his career and shows signs of getting even better.

Lonzo has taken off since Zion rejoined the team, averaging 13.2 points, 8.4 assists and 7 rebounds, and maybe most importantly, he was shooting 43.2% from three-point range.

In a recent practice video, Lonzo Ball looked very comfortable on the catch-and-shoot three, as well as pulling up off the dribble.

In his last five games before the break, Lonzo found another level, averaging 20,8 points, 7.8 assists, 7.8 rebounds and swiping 2.2 steals per game. He was absolutely scorching from 3-point range, hitting 51.2% and doing it with confidence.

If Lonzo can improve his free throw shooting (his only real weakness) he could add four to five points to his scoring average and be an All-Star next year.

If that happens, his price tag will go up and there will be plenty more teams with cap space than there are this summer.

New Orleans Pelicans: Extending Lonzo Ball now makes financial sense.

Another reason the Pelicans should try and extend Lonzo now is that it will ultimately save them money.

Since salaries are a percentage of the cap, if the cap goes down, so do salaries. Since the cap is projected to go back up for the vaunted 2021 free agent class, locking up Lonzo at the full max this summer would actually be a discount.

But don’t think for a second that Lonzo Ball doesn’t know this.

The Pelicans would definitely have to offer Lonzo the full max this summer for him to even consider taking an extension, as he is likely to make more if he just waits one year and enters restricted free agency.

Some other team would certainly offer Lonzo the max and the Pelicans would have to match, and they probably would.

This is why they should at least try to extend him this summer, offer him the full five-years and lock up a big part of this core. If they can sell Lonzo on the idea of playing with Zion and Ingram long-term, he might take slightly less to get both team and financial security.

Signing an extension this summer would also give Lonzo some security against injuries and would give him the chance to hit free agency again while he is still in his prime.

Hopefully the New Orleans Pelicans and Lonzo Ball can come to an agreement that gives ‘Zo a big payday and keeps him in the Big Easy long-term.