The New Orleans Pelicans have options in free agency.
The New Orleans Pelicans do not need to completely remake their team, but they definitely need some changes.
The Pelicans’ defense got worse in the bubble, and as the games slowed down, their flaws became more apparent.
The Pelicans definitely need to add some size to the roster, as they currently just have free agent Derrick Favors and rookie Jaxson Hayes as their primary bigs.
They could use some muscle in the paint, someone to protect the rim and need to add depth at both forward positions.
And if the Pels could find a backup point guard on the cheap or some bench scoring, that would also help. It seems like their wish list is long, but they really just need role players to complement the talented core they already have in place.
Once they extend Brandon Ingram this offseason, there won’t be much left in the purse for anything else, so the Pelicans will have to find low-cost value in free agency.
Barring a trade, they won’t be in the hunt for the big name guys this offseason, which is fine because there really aren’t that many. The Pelicans would be wise to have as much cap space as possible next offseason when just about everyone becomes a free agent and they might be able to add another veteran star next to their youngsters.
This offseason will be all about value though, which is why we looked through every team in the league to try and find some.
We ignored the guys the Pels probably won’t be able to afford, and focused on the realistic free agent options from every team. We also only chose from the pool of unrestricted free agents, as there are too many moving parts to get into the restricted guys.
Let’s start in the Eastern Conference.