The Pelicans have made two moves to get themselves to the required roster limit in anticipation of the upcoming regular season, officially announcing that they have waived veteran point guard Jarrett Jack and rookie forward Garlon Green.
With the moves, New Orleans’ roster now stands at 16, including two-way player Trevon Bluiett. As Will Guillory of The Athletic notes, these cuts likely mean that both Kenrich Williams and Troy Williams will make the final roster, although it’s possible one of those player’s contracts will get converted to the team’s other two-way deal alongside Bluiett.
Jack, who we indicated yesterday would probably make the team after the front office decided to part ways with Darius Morris, will likely draw some interest from other teams around the league looking for veteran leadership. He has averaged 10.8 points and 4.6 assists per game in his 13 NBA seasons.
Green, meanwhile, who signed with the Pelicans back in July after playing on the club’s summer league team in Las Vegas, averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in four preseason games. The team will incur a $50K cap hit for him, which amounts to the amount of money guaranteed to Green in his contract.
Maybe Spurs can use Jack?
That’s a great idea
But the Spurs don’t know Jack.
Perhaps the Suns will be scanning the waiver wire for their point guard.
Jack to the Suns
Jack has to be going to either the Suns or the Spurs..The Spurs have recently states that their comfortable with their in-house options, but really what legitimate options do they have left!?! lol…It’s basically Patty Mills, and then their only other options are using either Derozan or even Gay or Belinelli in more of a point-forward role..So, Jack would certainly be a welcomed, experienced addition..
Then you have the Suns, the Suns do have two young and talented point guards in Melton and Okobo, but neither are even close to being ready to lead a team. There only other options at PG are Canaan and Shaq Harrison, which Canaan is most likely to be their starter. Canaan is a quality back-up PG, but he is not starter material, especially if the Suns are truly looking to take a big step forward this season.
The most likely scenario, with the options they currently have on their roster, is for the Suns to have Booker as their primary ball-handler and playmaker. Their offense should either revolve around Booker, or they very well could run their offense through Ayton at the top of the key, to give defenses a different look.
Still, this team’s best players are very young, so it’s pivotal to their success that they surround these talented youngsters with veteran role players. That’s where Jarret Jack would fit in extremely well. Adding Jack to the veteran bunch of Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson, Darrell Arthur, and Tyson Chandler would give this young team a very solid mixture of veterans. They’ll be able to help with team chemistry, and they all can provide the likes of Booker, Ayton, Warren, Jackson, Bender, and Bridges with some veteran leadership on and off the floor. These vets very well could prove to be a huge benefit for these young player’s development moving forward, and this mixture could make the Suns a much improved team this season.
Regardless, even if the Suns do add Jack, they aren’t making the playoffs this season, but either way, this is still a very important year for the Suns. It isn’t very imporant in terms of wins and losses for the Suns, it’s just paramount to their long-term future that their younger players build chemistry, become more consistent, and gain confidence and experience moving forward as primarily a very young team.
This is an especially big year for Bender, and going into the off-season he primarily focused on getting stronger. Bender is going to be primarily a stretch big for thus team, and he has to be able to provide space to free up the lane for Ayton. Even so, by him getting stronger, thus should help Bender inside and especially on the glass and defensively. Defensively, Bender has often been dominated physically down low, so his added muscle will certainly be put to the test early on and often. If he can hold up defensively, and continue to stretch the floor from the 3, then Bender will be an excellent asset for this team moving forward.
The other core player that is due for a big year has to be Josh Jackson. If the Suns are going to eventually become a legitimate playoff contender soon, then Jackson HAS TO take his game to the next level. Defensively, Jackson can and should be an absolute force this season, so I am not worried about him defensively whatsoever. His growth has to come on the offensive side, and if he can consistently be intelligently aggressive, then that would be a huge weapon for the Suns. Jackson is capable of getting to the line, and when he’s driving aggressively, that’s when Jackson is at his best. This helps get Jackson in a groove, it gives him more confidence to shoot the 3, and if he’s doing both, then the sky is the limit for Jackson. He has all the talent and ability to be every bit as good as Jimmy Butler, it is just he has to remain aggressive. This year will be big for Jackson’s development, so it’ll be interesting to see how often the Suns try to get him going early in games.
For Bridges, it’s clearly his rookie season, but he has the perfect mentor for him in Trevor Ariza. This Suns team needs Bridges to be their main “3 and D” forward off the bench, and that’s a role Ariza has fit into perfectly over the years. The defense should be there almost from the very beginning for Bridges, but he has to work on his shot from 3-point range. That 3-point shot is what will ultimately make or break Bridges future, and if their future starting 5 is Booker, Jackson, Bridges, Bender, and Ayton, then Bridges is going to have to be able to open up lanes for Booker, Jackson, and especially Ayton. It’s only his rookie season, so Bridges has plenty of time to get down his shot, but the faster he can prove he’s capable, the more minutes he will earn early on..
I’d give this main core of Booker, Ayton, Bender, Jackson, Warren, Bridges, Ariza, Holmes, and possibly Melton and Okobo 2 full seasons to develop their own chemistry together, and then by year 3, if everything goes well, they should be ready to seriously challenge for a playoff spot.
The Suns are a bright young team, and they should be a ton of fun to watch develop over the next couple of seasons, but if they’re going to contend, then the aforementioned players HAVE TO shore up their collective weaknesses!! Otherwise, they’ll never reach their full potential, which would be an absolute waste of such a young and extremely talented group.
That was a mistake, waiving Jack. Im not even sure about the Pels now. Someone has to keep Payton on target.