Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver aced their first NBA Draft running the New Orleans Pelicans. The trio of Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, and Micah Peavy gives the Pelicans three incredibly strong foundational pieces as the front office builds out the future.
Although Queen and Fears get the majority of the attention, Peavy can't remain an afterthought. While he may not have flashed the All-Star-level potential many evaluators see in the team's two lottery picks, he has the tools to develop into one of the league's most elite connective pieces. That development starts this summer with refining his scoring touch and outside jumper.
Year-two Peavy could be a problem
At face value, his counting stats don't look great. In 61 games, he averaged 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 stocks (steals + blocks), while shooting 38.5 percent from the field and only 25.9 percent from three. But context is key. Anytime Peavy was on the court, he was forced to be the team's primary defender unless Herb Jones was on the court. For a rookie, that type of task can be taxing, so the majority of his offensive struggles stem from a lack of energy and from how he was utilized by the coaching staff.
If you watched the Pelicans nightly, you saw that Peavy's basketball IQ was arguably the highest on the team. He knew where to be, he knew how to position himself, understood when to cut and when not to, and just in general showed great knowledge of the game.
Of the team's three draft picks, he is by far the furthest along mentally, in terms of toughness and basketball IQ, and rightfully so, given he was a five-year college player.
On the defensive side of the ball, there's very little to work on this summer. Peavy finished fourth on the team in defensive rating among players who logged 50 or more games. He shuffles his feet well, uses his strength to wall guys up, and has great instincts for when to jump passing lanes and when to go for a steal on the ball. His already-established defensive talent is why fans should be excited for year-two Micah Peavy.
Often, rookies enter the summer with a million things to improve, which can become overwhelming. But for Peavy, he is a consistent jumper away from being a legit rotational piece for New Orleans in his sophomore season. And his track record as a hard worker suggests he'll get there.
Like I've mentioned before, outside of Herb Jones, this team lacks another point-of-attack defender and someone who can lock down the other team's best scorers. This opens the door for Peavy to really become a staple for the Pelicans next season if he can become more comfortable and consistent offensively. If he were even slightly above average offensively this season, he would've been first on the team in net rating ahead of guys like Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III.
If Peavy can see his shooting splits from both the field and three jump up 10 percent each, whoever is named as the franchise's next head coach will have a hard time keeping him off the floor in year-two. The defense is there, the IQ is there, and the maturity is there—all that's missing is a more consistent scoring touch.
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