It was reported on Wednesday that free agent wing Bryce McGowens has agreed on a two-way NBA deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. The former 40th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft now joins his 3rd NBA team and rounds out a balanced group of two-way players for the Pelicans. McGowens joins both Hunter Dickinson and Trey Alexander.
The Pelicans had a significant need for a wing, and it appears that Joe Dumars has filled that need by adding McGowens. Many fans wanted to see New Orleans use their final standard NBA roster spot on a wing, as outside of Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, the only other wing is Saddiq Bey. However, maybe because of the heavy minutes both Murphy and Jones will command, signing McGowens on a two-way was his way of addressing that need.
The signing of McGowens makes it evident that they are targeting a guard with their final roster spot. Which brings me back to a report from almost a month ago, as NBA insider Jake Fischer mentioned the Pelicans, among seven other teams, had interest in signing Malcolm Brogdon.
At the time of this original report, I was very against the idea of signing Brogdon. I felt it would continue to crowd New Orleans' back court. However, looking at the Pelicans roster today, I'm way more welcoming to the idea of adding the veteran guard
Wouldn't be my first choice but could still be a good move
When looking at the free agent market, there are plenty of guys. I think the Pelicans should pursue one of them, such as Amir Coffey. To me, he would still be my first choice for their final roster spot, as someone who is a knockdown shooter and brings size to the wing spot at 6'8". That being said, the closer we get to training camp, the more I open up to the idea of bringing in Brogdon.
Over his 9 years in the NBA, Brogdon has a career average of 15.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, while shooting an impressive 38.8% from beyond the arc. This type of shooting is something the Pelicans are still in need of, especially at guard, as both Dejounte Murray, Jose Alvarado, and Jeremiah Fears are streaky shooters.
Another reason I like bringing in Brogdon is that it continues to take pressure off Fears, it allows him to just focus on improving rather than having to produce results.
On top of that point, he is also just a great veteran for the Pelicans locker room. Brogdon has done a lot in his 9 years in the NBA, winning Rookie of the Year, being the engine to an offense in Indiana, being the Sixth Man of the Year, and even going to the NBA finals with the Celtics. That type of experience is always needed on young teams like New Orleans that have playoff aspirations.