The New Orleans Pelicans need more out of these two players

When the New Orleans Pelicans traded CJ McCollum, they knew it was going to cost them some depth.

They traded away two rotation players and only took back one, since they knew Larry Nance Jr. was injured and not likely to play anytime soon.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker wasn’t playing well, but he often logged big minutes for the Pelicans, so there are clearly some guard minutes up for grabs.

The Pelicans’ bench has been a problem all year, with not one player who has contributed consistently.

Jose Alvarado has done it lately, but has only recently gotten a chance. Guys like Naji Marshall and Trey Murphy III have not made the most of their opportunities, Jaxson Hayes has come and gone and Garrett Temple is a steadying veteran who isn’t very good.

You could argue that Gary Clark has been the Pelicans’ most consistent guy off the bench, which is hardly a ringing endorsement.

But it’s not just the bench, the New Orleans Pelicans need more from all of their role players, but two guys in particular.

The New Orleans Pelicans need more consistency from Devonte’ Graham

Devonte’ Graham has failed to score in double-digits in five of his last six games, culminating in a big zero last night against the Spurs.

If you look though Graham’s game log this season, you’ll see he’s been through a lot of peaks and valleys, having a nice streak of games followed by a streak where he can’t make a shot.

He should be the beneficiary of a lot more wide-open looks now that the Pelicans have another scorer, but the question is whether he and CJ McCollum can work defensively or if Graham should be moved to the bench.

The Pelicans have depth issues partially because they have small guards in Graham, Alvarado and eventually Kira Lewis Jr., who are not great fits together. This means Graham has to play most of his minutes with the first unit, though I would be tempted to move Alvarado to the starting lineup and let Graham run the second unit for stretches to see if it can get him going.

The Pelicans don’t need Graham to be a star, but they do need him to make open shots and score in double digits, as it is hard to win games only getting scoring from two or three guys.

Jaxson Hayes

Every time I think Hayes has turned a corner, he puts up a few clunkers in a row, which is frustrating but to be expected from a 21-year-old still learning how to play basketball.

Hayes has the chance to be the biggest beneficiary of the available bench minutes, or even a chance to eventually be a starter, but whatever role he ends up in, he needs to find a way to consistently impact games.

The Pelicans are essentially counting on him to be the sixth man right now, so he can’t disappear for stretches like he has in the past.

Personally, I’d like to see the Pelicans just go big, move Hayes to the starting lineup and stagger Graham and Alvarado with Ingram and McCollum so that one of them was always on the floor.

Hayes is going to get more minutes and has a bigger role than he has in the past, but that requires more consistency and focus than he has shown.

The New Orleans Pelicans are continuing to get consistently strong play from their main guys, but they will need some role players to step up to have a chance at the play-in tournament.