New Orleans Pelicans: Will Dyson Daniels be ready to go?

Dyson Daniels only played eight minutes for the New Orleans Pelicans in Summer League before going down with injury.

Summer League was an unmitigated disaster for the Pelicans’ two rookies, as both Daniels and second-round pick EJ Liddell went out with injury, in Liddell’s case, effectively ending his season before it even started.

Dyson Daniels figures to be a part of the Pelicans’ depth chart right away, as he is already a plus-defender and playmaker who has been working on his shot.

On a roster loaded with talent, Daniels will have to earn his minutes, but the defensive upside is there and we know that coach Willie Green is going to prioritize defense when it comes to allocating minutes.

He also gives the Pelicans some size at guard off the bench, something they lack with guys like Devonte’ Graham, Jose Alvarado and Kira Lewis Jr. filling out the guard ranks.

The Pelicans will be better with Daniels in the rotation, so will he be ready by the time the season starts?

New Orleans Pelicans: Dyson Daniels injury update

Daniel’s injury was ruled a sprain, but initially it didn’t look great. The New Orleans Pelicans are no strangers to injuries, as they have lost Zion Williamson for nearly two full seasons and star Brandon Ingram has also missed plenty of time with injuries of his own.

But it appears that Daniels should be ready to go, at least according to a recent interview with Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.

Here is what Daniels had to say about his injured ankle:

"“I tried to convince some people to let me play in the last game, but it didn’t work… “I’m feeling good” and believed he’d be back to 100 percent “in the next week or so.”"

It sounds like Daniels is ready to go now, so he should be fine by the beginning of the season as long as he doesn’t suffer a setback.

It’s good to see that the rookie was eager to get back out there, and it would be nice if the New Orleans Pelicans could finally enter a season at full strength, especially next season, when they will have the chance to compete for a top playoff spot in the Western Conference.