Pelicans: Who will be better, Lonzo Ball or Nickeil Alexander-Walker?

Pelicans: Lonzo Ball and Nickel Alexander-Walker’s intangibles

Intangibles are things outside of scoring and defense that might give one player the edge.

Lonzo Ball’s contract is certainly one of them, as he is reportedly seeking $20 million per season while NAW will make just $3.2 million next season.

Considering the Pelicans have a lot of holes to fill, that is a HUGE argument for keeping NAW and letting Lonzo Ball walk in free agency.

But there is something about Lonzo Ball that NAW just doesn’t have. He’s got the slick passing, the swagger and the ability to make the big play. He is also best friends with Zion Williamson and clearly has a good rapport with him.

NAW has some of these qualities too, but can he be a leader? Can Lonzo? Both players are fairly quiet, though I do feel like Lonzo inspires his teammates at times and definitely isn’t afraid of the spotlight.

I would give Lonzo the edge in intangibles, as he has an off-the-charts basketball I.Q. and has shown he can adapt to different roles.

Edge: Lonzo Ball

Even though NAW has had some good moments this season, I still firmly believe that Lonzo Ball will be the better player as long as he can add some more wrinkles to his offensive game.

That doesn’t mean the Pelicans should keep Lonzo but it should give them pause, especially considering that NAW has not proven he can be good for a whole season yet.

I’d love for the Pelicans to keep them both so we can finally see what a backcourt with Lonzo and NAW looks like.