With NBA free agency less than a month away, it's the right time to discuss players the Pelicans can target in free agency. Now the Pels won't be big spenders this summer. Actually, not really anybody will be, as the only team with more than $30 million in cap space is the Brooklyn Nets. New Orleans will instead have to settle for the Taxpayer Midlevel Exception, which is expected to be around $5.7 million.
Now, it's essential that the Pelicans' limited free agency cash get them a high-impact player. It feels like year after year, they are trying to find a quality center in free agency. Thankfully, they hit on the Yves Missi pick last summer. So this time, all they need is a backup five-man. Someone who can protect the basket, score in the post, set good screens and occasionally knock down the three-ball. Well, Trendon Watford is all of those things.
This guy is seriously slept on
I'm not trying to be harsh, but how out of touch are NBA General Managers? Last year, Watford had a career year with the Nets. He averaged 10.2 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, and he was only making 2.7 million. Yet no GM in the entire NBA thought to trade for him. I mean, that's just terrible. But for the Pels, this is a good thing. It shows how slept on Watford is, and it should make it easier for them to bring him to New Orleans.
At only 24 years old, Watford can bring some serious energy to the backup center spot. He plays with extreme hustle, wears his heart on his sleeve and isn't afraid to get chippy with opponents. These are all characteristics that Pels' President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars and Head Coach Willie Green would love. The type of heart that Watford can bring to this team is contagious and will rub off on the rest of the roster.
Watford can bring spacing, making him an extremely versatile option off the bench. His ability to guard on the perimeter is not very common for big men. This versatility could see Watford used in lineups where he is the center and is spacing the floor for Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray. But he can also be used in double-big lineups with Yves Missi. Double-big lineups have grown very popular in the NBA lately, and bringing in Watford would allow the Pels to join the trend.
Watford shot 33% from beyond the 3-point arc in the 2024-25 season. His ability to stretch the floor would give the Pels a different look than Yves Missi, a traditional back-to-the-basket big man. Now, I understand that Kelly Olynyk is still under contract and plays similarly to Watford. However, signing Trendon would make Kelly expendable because, at this point, Watford is much better than Olynyk is.
Defensively, Watford is solid, which is all you need. His biggest defensive tool is his hustle he rareley gives up on a play and always is putting his body on the line to help get stops. Obviously he is mildly undersized at 6'9 to be playing center and isn't a high block per game guy. That said he is really good at contesting shots and alter attempts at the rim without even blocking them.
Trendon Watford is by far one of the most slept-on players in the NBA and can provide the type of things contending teams need. Even though he was overlooked at the 2025 trade deadline, that doesn't mean he should be when free agency opens. Watford would fit in perfectly with the direction the Pelicans are taking, which is title contention.