New Orleans Pelicans: How signing Gabriel & Thornwell helps the roster

The New Orleans Pelicans filled out their roster by signing Wenyen Gabriel and Sindarius Thornwell to veteran minimum deals

Well, here we have it. The New Orleans Pelicans are in all likelihood done in the free-agent market unless they have another trade in the pipeline. After adding major salaries to their roster by acquiring Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams in a four-team trade, the Pelicans ended their free agency period quietly yesterday by signing Wenyen Gabriel and Sindarius Thornwell to veteran’s minimum contracts.

Now, do I expect either of these players to serve a major role on this year’s roster? No, but I do think that both of these players have the potential to give the Pelicans some good minutes in smaller roles throughout the season. Of course, the organization must feel the same way considering they gave both players a roster spot.

Since neither of these players has ever been household names in the NBA, I know many fans are probably wondering who are these players, and what can they bring to the table. Let’s start with Gabriel and take a look at what these guys bring to the table.

Wenyen Gabriel has raw athleticism and a 5-star pedigree but needs some more coaching if he wants to be successful in the NBA

Wenyen Gabriel- Forward/Big

Out of the two signings, Wenyen Gabriel is the player that I personally like the most. He’s a late-blooming basketball player thanks to growing up in Sudan and not really playing the sport under coming to America for high school back in 2012 and went undrafted in 2018 after attending Kentucky as a 5-star recruit.

That’s why I love his signing so much, there’s just something about how John Callipari runs coaches the Kentucky basketball program that makes his athletes turn into successful NBA players.

For Gabriel though, he’s still very raw despite the improvements he made at Kentucky and the development he’s made in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers. He’s a forward-big tweener who stands at 6’9″ yet plays with a lot of mobility. Throughout his time at Kentucky, he showed that he can be an excellent cutter and smooth shooter while remaining very active on the interior at the defensive end of the floor.

That skill set hasn’t quite made it to the NBA, but Pelicans fans should have reason to believe it can thanks to Stan Van Gundy and his coaching staff. With assistants like Bob Beyer and Fred Vinson working with him, Gabriel might turn into a valued stretch-four in Van Gundy’s system.

If not, at least his athleticism will be impactful for the Pelicans in select minutes and the team can then cut bait with him at the end of the season by declining his option. Now let’s take a look at what Sindarius Thornwell brings to the Pelicans.