Antonio Reeves's breakout should convince Pelicans to change directions

On Tuesday, November 20, the New Orleans Pelicans dropped their third game in a row, this time getting blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers, 128-100. After this latest loss, they're now 4-12 on the season and in competition with the Utah Jazz for last place in the Western Conference. Even the lowly Portland Trail Blazers have started to pull ahead at 6-9.

The bad news doesn't stop there for the Pelicans either. Brandon Ingram joined their CVS-receipt-sized injury report with a bilateral ankle sprain for this game. Yves Missi was also questionable with left shoulder soreness but was ultimately able to go. New Orleans played against the Cavs without their top-seven highest-paid players (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Jordan Hawkins), and that doesn't even include Jose Alvarado.

This season hasn't been without its silver linings, though. Due to their litany of injured players, the Pelicans stumbled into a diamond in the rough with Brandon Boston Jr. The fourth-year wing out of Kentucky is currently averaging 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists through 13 games. In this latest defeat, the Pelicans had the opportunity to let another unexpected player shine.

Antonio Reeves has given the Pelicans another bright spot in a gloomy season

With so many players sidelined and unavailable, Head Coach Willie Green had to turn to the end of his bench. There waiting at the bottom of the rotation was former Kentucky Wildcat Antonio Reeves. New Orleans traded away two future pick swaps to the Orlando Magic in order to draft Reeves with the 47th-overall selection.

Despite their clear desire to add him, Reeves scarcely saw the floor for the Pelicans before their loss to Cleveland, totaling just 52 total minutes before his night against the Cavs, even with all of New Orleans's injuries throughout the early season. On Tuesday, though, on his 24th birthday, Reeves finally got a real opportunity and took full advantage.

Against the Cavs, he played 40 minutes and put up 34 points on 14-25 shooting and added four rebounds and three assists. He poured in buckets from all over the floor, scoring from 3-point land, the midrange, and as a slasher. Reeves proved his scoring ability in college, first with Illinois State before transferring to Kentucky. His advanced scoring touch garnered the attention of the Pelicans brass, and their decision to trade for him was partly vindicated against the Cavs.

On a larger scale, Reeves's breakout performance is another nudge for New Orleans to change directions for the season. They've seemingly found the ceiling on their core built around Zion, BI, and CJ. Thankfully, through the course of this experiment, they've actually accumulated an impressive amount of young talent with players like TMIII, Herb, Hawkins, Brandon Boston, Yves Missi and now Antonio Reeves.

Perhaps it's time for the Pelicans to punt on the rest of the year and trade away their veteran players in pursuit of the best possible draft pick this summer. Dealing away Ingram, McCollum, and possibly even Dejounte Murray would bring back an absolute haul of assets that they could use to either build towards the future or retool quickly around Zion and their remaining players. With the injuries and losses mounting, they may not even have a choice.