New Orleans Pelicans: Front Office Grades for All 2019-20 Transactions
New Orleans Pelicans: Front office gets mixed grades for first season.
July 21, 2019
Signed Darius Miller to a 2 year / $14,250,000 contract
Grade: F
This is another move the Pelicans wish they had back and never should have made in the first place.
Miller got hurt about a month after signing this deal and never played a minute for the Pelicans while eating up over $7 million in cap space. Ouch.
I’m not sure what Griffin was thinking with this contract, as Miller was never anything more than a good spot-up 3-point shooter, was nearly 30-years-old and had done little to warrant such a deal.
This cap hit ended up being brutal for the Pels, who could have used that space on a guy who actually played. Miller’s contract is only partially guaranteed next season, but if the Pels don’t get anything out of him, this one is a huge flop.
I didn’t understand this move at the time and still don’t. David Griffin should have to answer for this but no one remembers because Miller was never really on the team after signing his extension.
July 24, 2019
Signed Zylan Cheatham and Josh Gray to two-way contracts
Grade: B-
This wasn’t a major move or one that moved the needle for the Pelicans, but they may have found something in Zylan Cheatham.
Josh Gray is unlikely to get another shot, but Cheatham looks like a guy who could be an energy defender in the NBA. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cheatham makes the roster next season, as he brings the kind of defensive intensity and size on the wing the Pelicans need.
February 26, 2020
Assigned Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the G-League
Grade: D
In my opinion, this was a move that should have been made long before it was, as NAW was languishing on the Pels’ bench, not getting the reps he needs to improve.
He should have been in the G-League from the start, and the Pels put way too much stock in a couple of Summer League games, a mistake you’d expect Twitter “experts” to make, not seasoned front offices.
NAW’s development was slowed by the fact that he wasn’t playing, and the Pels would have been better off letting him be the primary ball handler on the Erie Bayhawks, where he could have refined his skills and got better.
Instead it was pretty much a lost season for NAW.
July 6th, 2020
Signed Sindarius Thornwell to a substitution contract
Grade: C
I don’t mind the signing per se, as he wasn’t going to play anyway and they needed a body, but there were other players out there who might have actually been able to help the Pelicans.
Trey Burke was out there and would have been a nice weapon off the Pels’ bench. Jordan Bell was a guy Memphis grabbed who might have been able to help the Pels now and possibly in the future.
In the end, Thornwell didn’t really matter but they could have done better.