The New Orleans Pelicans will need low-cost, impact free agents for their bench.
The New Orleans Pelicans are not going to have much money to spend on free agents if they extend Brandon Ingram this offseason as is expected.
They do have four picks in the NBA Draft but it is hard to rely on rookies to make a difference, especially since three of them will come from the second round of what many think is a weak draft.
They could move one of their veteran contracts in a big trade but that seems less likely now that Stan Van Gundy has been named head coach. The Pelicans didn’t hire him to only to develop young players, they hired him to win and having Jrue Holiday and J.J. Redick will help that cause.
That leaves free agency, where the Pelicans will not have much to spend, especially if the salary cap dips significantly as has been reported.
This leaves the New Orleans Pelicans potentially scraping the bottom of the barrel for free agents to fill out their roster and complete their bench.
Luckily, there are a few free agents who could make an impact for the Pelicans and won’t cost them much money.
These 2nd and 3rd-tier guys all come with huge red flags or have talent that they have not yet tapped into during their NBA careers.
The first is a guy who has lottery talent that he hasn’t realized and the second is an under-the-radar combo guard who could make a difference for the New Orleans Pelicans.