The New Orleans Pelicans made one of the biggest moves of the offseason so far, orchestrating a sign and trade that sent Lonzo Ball to the Chicago Bulls for a couple of pieces including Tomas Satoransky.
If you polled most Pelicans’ fans, I don’t think Satoransky represents the type of haul they were expecting for Lonzo Ball, who clearly wanted a change of scenery and got it when the Bulls made him an offer the Pelicans didn’t want to match.
The Pelicans could have traded Lonzo at the trade deadline and now it looks like they should have, as they pretty much lost him for nothing except the cap space his contract would have taken.
The Pels did add Devonte’ Graham and aren’t done making moves, so it is too early to judge the Lonzo Ball saga, but it doesn’t currently look great for the Pels in terms of asset management.
Most Pelicans’ fans have probably never even heard of Satoransky, who was an afterthought in the deal, but what will he bring to the New Orleans Pelicans?
New Orleans Pelicans: Tomas Satoransky is not going to spread the floor much
One of the Pelicans’ glaring offseason needs was to add shooting around Zion Williamson, and they got some when they traded for Jonas Valanciunas and added Devonte’ Graham.
That’s good, because Satoransky is not a great 3-point shooter in terms of volume or accuracy, as he hit just 35 percent from long range on only two attempts per game last season.
He is not going to be a sharpshooter off the Pelicans’ bench, but he does add other skills that will help the Pelicans.
Tomas Satoransky is a playmaker who can do a little of everything
Some fans are calling Satoransky the “Czech Lonzo” and there are some similarities, as he is a 6-foot-7 combo guard who can make plays and grab rebounds.
But lets pump the brakes a little on the Lonzo comparison, as Lonzo is a much better shooter, defender and overall player, albeit one who is way overpaid in my opinion.
Satoransky comes pretty cheap and provides some of the things the Pels will lose by trading Lonzo. Satoransky averaged 4.7 assists per game, mostly off the Bulls’ bench, which isn’t bad considering that Lonzo averaged just 5.7 assists while playing nearly ten minutes more per game.
Satoransky flashed a bit of this in a recent loss in the Olympics when he put up 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds against the heavily favored Team USA.
Satoransky will replace a chunk of what Lonzo was bringing and do it at a fraction of the cost, so even though he is not the piece that will push the Pelicans over the top, he will be nice addition to their bench.