How the lowered NBA salary cap will affect the New Orleans Pelicans

The NBA salary cap is going down, which could have a drastic effect on Jrue Holiday and the New Orleans Pelicans.

The New Orleans Pelicans were never going to have much cap space this offseason but now that the NBA salary cap is going down, things are going to get tight.

According to multiple league sources, and reported by the San Francisco Chronicles’ Connor Letourneau, the NBA salary cap could go down anywhere from three to twelve million this offseason after the league lost $1.5 billion in revenue due to the pandemic:

This will give the teams with salary cap even more power and will also affect how most teams conduct their offseason business, including the New Orleans Pelicans.

Here are three ways they could be affected.

New Orleans Pelicans may have to rely on the NBA Draft instead of free agency

The Pels were already going to have limited funds to spend in free agency, especially after they extend Brandon Ingram.

Now? They might have to go into the luxury tax just to extend Ingram and could have very little if anything left for other free agents.

This could lead to the Pelicans relying more heavily on the NBA Draft, where they have four picks, one in the lottery and three in the second round.

They could convey all four or try to trade up and grab someone they think can make the roster. Either way, the Pelicans are going to have to find some impact talent in the draft.

New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball’s extension will have to wait

Brandon Ingram is probably wondering how this new cap number is going to affect his max contract, which may have to be slightly less depending on how much the cap drops.

The Pelicans might have also tried to extend Lonzo Ball in this offseason as a way to save money. After his poor finish, Lonzo might be a little cheaper this offseason than next, especially if he has a big year.

Now? Lonzo Ball would have to be insane to sign an extension, as his cut will be a percentage of the cap, which will obviously be lower this offseason than next.

The Pelicans won’t be extending Lonzo Ball this offseason, which may have some ramifications down the road.

The New Orleans Pelicans may have to trade Jrue Holiday

One of the few ways the Pelicans can open up some cap space is by trading Jrue Holiday, preferably to one of the teams with cap space.

If the Pels could move Holiday’s contract to someone like Atlanta, they may be able to take back less money, which would give them some cap space to use in free agency.

The Pelicans will either have to trade Holiday or potentially go well into the luxury tax to fill their roster. This is going to be a tough decision to make, as Jrue Holiday is not only very good but the leader and face of the franchise.

The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to spend efficiently if they want to get a deeper, more talented roster this offseason.

Otherwise, they may have to go deep into the tax or trade one of their veteran contracts.