The New Orleans Pelicans have had a busy offseason, and if you are reading the national media, you’d think it was a complete disaster.
Zach Lowe recently had this to say about the Pelicans’ free agency so far and I’ve seen this opinion mirrored by several other writers and even some fans of New Orleans:
"“Pelicans have to be one of the big losers in FA. Gave up two picks to not get Lowry. Traded a 1st round pick + Lonzo for Graham, Satoransky, and Temple. To give up three picks and lose the best player in Lonzo… boy oh boy… it’s hard to look at this series of events and feel good about NOLA.”"
I do agree that David Griffin has not managed his assets well, as it is not good to have to give up draft picks to get off a contract, as he did with Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams.
I’d also agree that the Lonzo Ball saga probably didn’t go to plan, but I have no problem with the Pelicans’ decision not to offer that ridiculous contract, as Ball simply has not earned it. Knowing this, Ball should have been traded at the deadline, as they could have gotten some assets for him instead of trading him away for nothing but a decent bench player in Satoransky.
But I don’t agree that the Pelicans have been the biggest losers in free agency and think they should be better next season with the moves they did make.
New Orleans Pelicans: Jonas Valanciunas is a big upgrade over Steven Adams
Valanciunas came to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a trade, so technically he is not part of the Pels’ free agency.
But it’s unfair to ignore this addition, as it makes the rest of the Pelicans’ moves look better when viewed as a whole.
Valanciunas is a big upgrade over Adams, as he provides all the of the defense and rebounding but can also score and step away from the hoop, something the Pelicans desperately needed around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
The Pels might have missed out on Kyle Lowry in free agency, but they made a trade that will make them better and cleared some cap space, so it can’t be ruled a disaster even though Griffin was mostly cleaning up his own mistakes.
New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball vs. Devonte’ Graham
I do agree that Lonzo Ball is a better player than Devonte’ Graham but to act like the difference is that huge is complete nonsense.
First off, can we stop acting like Lonzo Ball is an elite guard? He basically stood at the 3-point line and chucked shots, defended well at times and ran the fast break.
He was awful in the half court, can’t shoot free throws and was terrible in the clutch, an area where Devonte’ Graham will be a huge upgrade.
They basically average the same points, same assists and Ball has slightly more rebounds, that’s it.
Oh, did I mention that Graham makes half the amount of money that Lonzo does? When you factor in contract, I’d rather have Graham, even though Lonzo Ball clearly has a higher ceiling as the younger player.
Lonzo Ball could blow up for the Bulls and I wish him well, but it likely wasn’t going to happen in New Orleans and Graham better fits what the Pelicans need in some ways.
With the Bulls tying up nearly $50 million in Ball and DeMar DeRozan, I would argue their free agency was worse than the Pels and is going to look awful in year three. Same with Memphis, who took on Bledsoe and Adams just to move up seven spots in the draft to take a guy who is a raw project. No thanks.
This trade of Ball for Graham is not a disaster, especially when you factor in contracts, and may actually work out better for the New Orleans Pelicans if Graham can find another level.
The Pelicans offseason isn’t over
While it’s true that most of the big name free agents are already off the board, the Pelicans still have some options to add impact talent.
A guy like Lauri Markkanen could be a difference maker for the Pelicans and he is still out there. The Pelicans have the cap space to sign him or a similar free agent if they decide to go that route.
They can also use their cap space to take on a big contract in a trade, which might be the better option, and there are a number of talented players who the Pels can acquire using their massive stockpile of draft assets.
The offseason isn’t over yet, so I am hoping David Griffin has a plan to get more talent to fill out the roster.
If the offseason were to end today, it wouldn’t have been a perfect one for the Pelicans, but it wasn’t a total disaster either.