The New Orleans Pelicans will have to find free-agent forwards on the cheap.
The New Orleans Pelicans have some holes to fill this offseason and won’t have a ton of money to spend in free agency.
After extending Brandon Ingram, as is expected, the Pelicans could be strapped for cap space, especially after news that the salary cap is likely to plummet.
The Pelicans have four picks in the NBA Draft, but this is one of the wonkiest drafts of all time, as teams had very little time to scout players and no postseason play to use in evaluation.
The Pelicans could also free some cap space by making a trade of one of their veteran players, which seems less likely now that Stan Van Gundy has been hired as head coach. SVG wasn’t brought in to be a caretaker, the Pels want to win, which means they are unlikely to move Jrue Holiday unless it is in a blockbuster deal.
This leaves free agency, where the Pelicans are going to have to spend efficiently to find guys who fit their roster and cap space.
The Pels need depth at both forward positions, a center and possibly a backup point guard, which isn’t going to be easy, especially in such a weak class of free agents.
The top-tier forwards are all out of the Pels’ price range, which is why they are going to have to look to the 2nd tier to find guys they can afford who can contribute.
At power forward they basically need someone to back up Zion Williamson, but it would be nice if he could play with Zion as well.
This player ideally would be a rim protector or someone who could potentially stretch the floor.
Here are two power forwards with skills the Pelicans need who will likely be cheap. They aren’t going to bring a title but could provide nice depth off the bench.