New Orleans Pelicans: 3 biggest areas of need after draft, free agency

New Orleans Pelicans: Needs after the draft and free agency

A playmaker off the bench

The New Orleans Pelicans came into the offseason needing a backup point guard and they still do.

Sure, they already have Lonzo, Bledsoe and NAW, all of whom have played point guard, but who is going to run the second unit?

NAW is still unproven, has poor shot selection and turns the ball over way too much, though he has the ability to get to the rim and use his size to finish.

Lewis Jr. is a 19-year-old rookie who hasn’t played a minute in the NBA, so he can’t be counted on to come right in and start making plays off the bench.

Redick and Melli are slow. Jaxson Hayes doesn’t really have an offensive game to speak of. Josh Hart is more of a slasher and spot-up shooter.

So who exactly on this team is going to make plays off the bench?

The Pelicans are putting an awful lot of pressure on a teenage rookie to be the savior in this department and it was an area where the Pelicans were already weak.

The bench unit was stagnant offensively at times last season, relying way too much on contested 3-point shots that look great when they are falling but put the team into big holes when they aren’t.

The Pels were great at blowing leads with their bench last season, mostly when they had no one to come in and make a play for a teammate.

Lewis Jr. may come right in and be that guy but until he proves he can do it, the Pels do not have much in the way of playmakers off their bench.

This could cause Stan Van Gundy to use some different starting lineups, possibly putting Bledsoe on the bench. He will definitely be staggering Ingram, Ball and Zion so that there is always a playmaker on the floor, but it would be nice to have that spark off the bench that the Pels currently lack.

We’ll have to wait and see if these holes turn into problems as the season progresses, but the Pels did nothing to address their need at wing and the bench is still thin.