8 Players Who are Likely Finished as New Orleans Pelicans After Tonight

New Orleans Pelicans: Players who won’t be with the team next year.

The Starter

Derrick Favors

Heading into the suspension of play, one of the biggest question marks of the season is what the New Orleans Pelicans would do with Derrick Favors.

Favors emergence was one of the key factors in the Pelicans turning their season around, and the advanced stats back it up.

It seemed that the Pelicans almost HAD to retain Favors, as he was their only real big, rim protector and defender and all of their best lineups had him in it.

Then the bubble happened.

I’m not going to keep bagging on Favors, but to put it bluntly, he stunk in the bubble and didn’t look like the same guy.

Favors looked cooked, slow, glued to the floor and most importantly, disinterested.

Favors has had a tough year with the death of his mother, so I feel for the guy, but I can’t imagine the Pelicans were watching that performance and saying “Yep, we need him next season!”

Favors made $17.65 million this season and there is zero chance that the Pelicans or anyone else is going to pay that much again, but someone will probably still pay him more than the Pels are willing to match.

Favors went from “key cog” to expendable in a matter of weeks when it became clear that he was not part of the team’s future.

The Pelicans need to get a bigger, more athletic center who can actually protect the rim, catch a lob and run the floor. Favors is just not that guy.

The New Orleans Pelicans haven’t made their decisions yet, but it’s doubtful that any of these players will be back next season, not to mention the coach, who is rumored to be on the way out as well.

The core of this team is set, but they need to rebuild the bench and possibly find someone else to lead it.