A lost season for the New Orleans Pelicans’ Didi Louzada

The 2021-22 season is one that Didi Louzada of the New Orleans Pelicans would like to forget.

Coming into the season, it appeared as though Louzada would have a chance to make the deep bench. The Pelicans had committed to him in the form of of a four-year contract, with two of the years fully guaranteed, so they saw something in the second-round pick who started his pro career in Australia.

Louzada is very athletic and a good defender, though raw offensively, but with the Pelicans suffering so many injuries, he likely would have seen the court at some point this season if things hadn’t gone south for him.

It started when he was suspended for 25 games for violating the league’s drug policy, reportedly taking a banned substance while in his native Brazil. Louzada claims he didn’t do it on purpose (has any athlete ever taken a banned substance on purpose?) but it doesn’t really matter, as he was hit with the suspension anyway.

Whether it was an accident or not, it’s not a good look for a fringe player trying to make an NBA roster.

Louzada recently came back and was playing pretty well for the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G-League affiliate, but reportedly injured his left knee and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Some of his season was lost to carelessness (or cheating) and the rest to injury and Louzada couldn’t have picked a worse time to have his nightmare of a year.

Didi Louzada may be blowing his chance to impress the New Orleans Pelicans

If ever there was a season for a young player to be on the New Orleans Pelicans, it is this one, as injuries have forced coach Willie Green to play just about everyone.

Players like Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado have made the most of their opportunities, and have played their way into the starting lineup (for Jones) and a key bench role (for Alvarado).

If Didi Louzada had been available, he probably would have gotten a shot too, and who knows, he could have played his way into the Pelicans’ rotation.

Instead, he is going to miss almost the entire season, and if the Pelicans shake things up and add some talent, he may be pushed out of the conversation altogether before ever getting a chance to show what he can do.

Count me as someone who thought Louzada could be an impact player this season for the Pelicans, so watching him lose an entire year has been disappointing.