The New Orleans Pelicans will be watching the NBA play-in tournament at home just like us, including tonight’s matchup of the Pacers vs. Wizards.
If you are looking for a reason to watch the game, both teams have some potential free agents, one of which might interest the Pelicans.
The Pelicans need shooting, that much is clear, and David Griffin also made it clear that it will be a priority heading into next season.
The Pelicans dipped to near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point percentage, so will look to add some shooters in the draft, free agency or via trade.
One possible choice will be playing tonight for the Indiana Pacers.
New Orleans Pelicans: NBA Free agent, Doug McDermott
Doug McDermott was probably drafted too high and hasn’t really lived up to being a lottery pick, but there is one thing that he does very well and that is shoot the 3-point shot.
McDermott’s numbers dipped slightly this season, as he only shot 38.8 percent from long range, but McDermott is over 40 percent for his career. He also had a 63.5 TS% this season, which was the highest of his career, so McDermott got better from inside the arc.
He would be a nice complement to Zion Williamson, as teams have to respect his shooting, which would open up more space for Zion to create with the second unit, which was seriously lacking in shooting.
McDermott is 29-years-old and coming off a contract that paid him $7.3 million this season. I imagine that he will get a similar deal again this time and could see him signing somewhere for around that annual amount.
The New Orleans Pelicans cap situation won’t be known until we see what they do with their own free agents, but if they have a space, McDermott would be a nice addition to their bench.
He could fill the role vacated by J.J. Redick and give the New Orleans Pelicans some much-needed 3-point shooting.