One of the more questionable positions for the New Orleans Pelicans is the guard position.
The starting lineup consists of Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe with JJ Redick, Kira Lewis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Josh Hart coming off the bench. Diving deeper into the position is it worth it to keep all these guards or look to trade one of them for different pieces?
New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball is part of the future
Having an underrated season, Lonzo is one of those guys the New Orleans Pelicans can rely on. Averaging a career-high 14 points per game, Lonzo has been a versatile point guard/wing hybrid after evolving into a new role this season.
As an underrated candidate for Most Improved player of the year, Ball has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. It would be great to keep him on the team as a piece of the core moving forward.
Lonzo Ball on his future with the Pelicans:
"“I love playing with those guys. I’m also really cool with them off the floor as well. We’re all young. I think we can do some good things especially in the future coming up.”"
New Orleans Pelicans: Streaky Bledsoe could be traded
Pelicans’ fans have a love-hate relationship with Bledsoe. He is averaging 12 PPG, the lowest amount of points since 2012-2013, and has not made many plays for his teammates, averaging just 3.8 assists, down from his career average.
Bledsoe has had hot and cold spells all season long and it is frustrating to see this happen to him because the Pelicans sent Jrue Holiday, NBA Teammate of the Year, and one of the hardest-working players, to Milwaukee.
Bledsoe did have big shoes to fill in New Orleans but if they can get a good trade with Bledsoe, I would not be opposed to trading him for someone who is a better fit.
New Orleans Pelicans: JJ Redick is most likely to be traded
It has been a long year for JJ. Being the oldest player on the team, he has veteran leadership that can help these young guys out on how to play high-level basketball.
Redick was supposed to help the Pelicans in 3 point shooting, but he’s shooting 36.4 percent from long range, lowest of his career. At 36 years old Redick is the outlier to this young team and the most likely player to be moved before the deadline.
As much as I love JJ Redick, for the Pelicans going forward, it would be best to move on from JJ and get a young shooter on their team.
New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis needs more minutes
The rookie, Kira Lewis only plays about 12 minutes per game this far this season and definitely needs to play more. His speed and ability to drive to the basket are skills the Pelicans’ lack.
Seeing Kira play more will help his confidence as a player and guard. He has some great handles and could be a second or third option for the guards.
Kira Lewis is the type of pass-first guard that could fit well with Zion Williamson, but his future fit is still a question for this team, so he needs to play more in the second half.
New Orleans Pelicans: Nickeil Alexander-Walker is running in place
In his second year with the Pelicans, NAW played some of the best basketball of his career in the month of January and then disappeared.
Averaging eight points per game, there are some things that he needs to work on. He is inconsistent from the field shooting 41 percent and he needs to be more comfortable with the basketball.
Being on the backburner as the 3rd string guard, Alexander-Walker can work his way up the roster if he has the confidence to shoot more.
It will be interesting to see how NAW can mature on this team and develop into a starting guard or trade bait in the future.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need Hart’s hustle
Averaging a little over eight points per game, Josh Hart has given his fair share of contributions off the bench.
He is second in the NBA in rebounds per game by a guard with about seven per game, only trailing James Harden.
Hart has the ability to spark momentum for this Pelicans team. That typically comes from his extra hustle plays. Hart is not afraid of diving on the court, fighting for loose balls, and putting his body out there to bring that energy for the team.
Even if he can not score a lot off the bench, it is important to keep him for the heart he has. His contract situation will be one of the things to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of decisions to make about their guards and the roster could look much different after the trade deadline.