The New Orleans Pelicans will look to the 2nd-tier for free agent small forwards.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of decisions to make this offseason. With limited money and NBA free agents to choose from, they will have to get creative to fill their roster.
The Pelicans need additional depth at both forward positions, a center who can defend and possibly a backup point guard before this offseason is complete.
With four picks in the NBA Draft, the Pelicans will hopefully fill some roster spots with youth but they will still need to add some veteran talent in free agency if they want to improve.
It’s possible that Stan Van Gundy can recruit some veteran free agents to the Pelicans but barring someone taking a big pay cut, it is unlikely.
The top-tier forwards like Danilo Gallinari, Davis Bertans and Jae Crowder will likely be out of the Pels’ price range unless they make a big trade.
Jrue Holiday has been the name most mentioned in rumors but would SVG really want the team to trade his veteran leader before he even gets a chance to coach a game?
That leaves the 2nd-tier of free agency, and when it comes to small forwards, there is a steep drop off from the players listed above.
If the New Orleans Pelicans want to add a free-agent small forward they are going to have to take a reclamation project, a past-his-prime veteran or a lottery talent bust who never put it all together.
Here is one in each of the above categories, as the New Orleans Pelicans try to find some impact talent in free agency.