This offseason for the New Orleans Pelicans has mostly been dominated by talk of two things: Whether Zion Williamson is going to stay and the free agency of Lonzo Ball.
Ball ended up going to the Bulls in a sign-and-trade and the national media wrote endless articles about how it would affect the Bulls, the Pels, and eventually the latter’s ability to re-sign their superstar.
The Pelicans also made a big trade to acquire Jonas Valanciunas, another move that got plenty of attention as fans and writers tried to dissect what it would mean for the New Orleans Pelicans.
This left the signing of Devonte’ Graham relatively overlooked by comparison even though he’s been just as good as Lonzo Ball and is obviously going to be a big part of the team moving forward.
This will be just one of the things that should give Devonte’ Graham extra motivation to improve next season.
New Orleans Pelicans: Is Devonte’ Graham underrated?
When you look around the league at some of the contracts being thrown around, Devonte’ Graham looks like a bargain.
He had to wonder what was going on when he saw Ball get an $85 million contract from the Bulls, or Duncan Robinson get $90 million or even his former teammate Terry Rozier, who signed a $97 million extension.
Graham has to be wondering how he got left out of this bonanza, as he put up nearly identical stats to Lonzo last season and was better than Robinson, who both got paid nearly double what Graham got from the New Orleans Pelicans.
This has to make Graham a bit angry and out to prove that he is not only as good as these guys but better. He has a chance to be a better fit for NOLA than Lonzo Ball was, and if Graham uses these slights as motivation, he could end up having a better season than any of the players I just mentioned, especially when you factor in the cost.
I like guys who have a chip on their shoulder, who will come into the season ready to prove their doubters wrong. Graham has been watching the media fawn over Lonzo and Robinson while he went largely ignored and I hope that drives him to be even better next season.