New Orleans Pelicans: 2 former Pels still looking for a team

The New Orleans Pelicans will have a lot of new faces on the roster next season with at least three different players in the starting five.

It will be a much younger and hopefully more dynamic roster that is better suited for success around Zion Williamson.

This has left a couple of former Pelicans without a team and it will be interesting to see if they find a home before next season.

New Orleans Pelicans: These 2 players are still NBA orphans

Isaiah Thomas

Thomas is a guy just about every NBA fan is cheering for, as he has had some bad luck over the years.

After an unbelievable season with the Celtics that ended in injury, Thomas has been fighting to get back into the NBA.

He still has to convince teams he is fully recovered from his hip surgery and has had workouts with several teams including the Lakers.

Thomas only appeared in three games for he New Orleans Pelicans, who never seemed to have any interest in bringing the 31-year-old back.

While there is no longer a place for him on the Pels’ roster, I hope Thomas gets another shot to at least be a spark off a good team’s bench, as I loved watching the 5-foot-9 point guard play.

J.J. Redick

A whole lot has been said about Redick’s parting with the New Orleans Pelicans, especially by Redick himself, as he has mentioned it several times on his podcast.

Redick was angered when David Griffin traded him to Dallas instead of to an east coast team and he let everyone know about it.

On paper, Redick was the perfect type of player to put around Zion, but it never worked out, as Redick was battling injuries all season and suddenly forgot how to shoot.

Someone will eventually sign Redick, but it appears he is going to have to wait, which may not be the worst thing, as the 37-year-old probably can’t play a full season anyway.

If I had to guess, Redick will end up signing with a team like the 76ers or Nets a few weeks or months into the season. Here’s what Redick had to say on his podcast:

"“My focus right now is just hanging with my family and enjoying the offseason. And we’ll make a decision on next season—what team, what city, etc.—probably sometime in the next two or three months,” Redick said. “But, you know, I would say, pretty much definitively, like, I won’t be in a training camp to start the season. That’s not gonna happen. So, you know, I’ll join a team at some point this season and finish the year and try to go get a chip.”"

It looks like Redick is going to hang back and see which team gives him the best opportunity to play for a title. I can say definitively that team won’t be the New Orleans Pelicans, but good luck ring chasing, and the Pels hope to see you in the playoffs.

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