New Orleans Pelicans: Three free agents that could replace JJ Redick

New Orleans Pelicans Target #1- Kyle Korver

Kyle Korver currently finds himself without an NBA team after dressing for the Milwaukee Bucks last season. The former all-star will likely be a coveted free agent as the playoffs inch closer, but the New Orleans Pelicans would do well to get ahead of the pack and lock him in for the remainder of the season if they want to add more shooting.

Korver is one of the best perimeter scorers in history, trailing only Ray Allen, Stephen Curry, and Reggie Miller in three-point makes. He is about as close to a like-for-like JJ Redick substitute as you can get. In fact, FiveThirtyEight’s player projection tool ranks Korver as the most comparable player to Redick.

Korver, of course, theoretically gives you shooting and scoring in bunches. He can shoot off movement, and I would be particularly interested in seeing how he would do in two-man action with Zion Williamson, using the gravity of Williamson’s rolling and Korver’s outside threat.

The former Hawks player is a career 43 percent shooter from beyond the arc and, even with his minutes way down during his stint in Milwaukee, Korver still made around that percentage of his triples. It wasn’t too long ago that Korver was a pivotal piece in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ title-contending team, either.

The problem with Korver would be the same as the one with Redick. He is a defensive sieve and, although he is taller and longer than Redick, he is also older. Korver would turn 40-years-old in March and, should the Pelicans make the playoffs, it’s unlikely he would play much. That would neuter any potential floor spacing the Pelicans could obtain through signing him.

Eventually, I think that Korver’s signing would boil down to the goals set by the New Orleans Pelicans’ front office. If they absolutely want to make the playoffs, then Korver would be a solid hand during the regular season and a great locker room presence in the post-season even without playing. If the focus is singularly on building for the future, then the Pelicans would be better off giving the likes of Nickell Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr. as much run as possible.