When the Pelicans got off to a 1-12 start this season, it looked like the team was headed for another lottery finish and some difficult offseason questions. Instead, New Orleans managed to turn things around, earned a playoff berth via the play-in tournament, and gave the NBA-best Suns all they could handle in the first round of the playoffs.
“To get to the playoffs, we continued to believe in ourselves. Continued to get better, believing in this organization,” Brandon Ingram said after Thursday’s Game 6 loss, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic. “New coach. New players. Figuring it out so fast. You don’t think about it in the moment because we just lost, but we definitely came a long way from the beginning of the season.”
As Guillory writes, the first-round loss to Phoenix was a tough one, given how competitive the Pelicans made the series (they were outscored by a total margin of 668-659 across six games). But after laying a strong foundation of young talent, the franchise looks poised to remain competitive and continue improving in the coming years.
There are still some pressing offseason questions facing the Pelicans, with both Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes eligible for rookie scale extensions, but all of the team’s young players are under contract for 2022/23, Guillory notes. And while there has been plenty of speculation about Williamson’s long-term commitment to New Orleans, the team couldn’t have done much more this spring to make him want to be part of the future.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- The Pelicans wouldn’t have gotten as far as they did this season without the contributions they received from a trio of unheralded rookies, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN, who spotlights Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy, and Jose Alvarado. Jones emerged as a legitimate All-Defensive candidate, Murphy knocked down 38.2% of his three-point attempts, and Alvarado provided energy and hustle plays off the bench. All three players are under contract for multiple years going forward.
- In his Pelicans offseason preview, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) examines the big decision the team must make on a potential Williamson extension and points out that veterans like CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. will be extension-eligible this summer as well.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype also looks ahead to the Williamson contract negotiations and the other key roster decisions facing the Pelicans this summer. As Gozlan writes, New Orleans doesn’t have much breathing room below the projected luxury tax line, which will affect the club’s ability to make full use of its mid-level exception.
Very impressed with the Pels. The CJ deal on paper looked decent but on the court you could tell he stepped right into a leadership role and changed the culture immediately. To have the kind of start they had and all the noise around Zion, to make it out of the Play In and take 2 games against the Western Champ Suns while leaning so heavily on their young guys is very encouraging moving forward. Hell of a season NOLA
And if that Laker pick lands top 4 this team might have the highest potential in the league aside from the juggernaut that has been built in the Bay
Im really impressed with how well CJ fit over there. H. Jones is the best news for NOP this season. He will be very valuable going forward considering their core (Zion – BI – CJ) has defensive issues.
The Zion thing is still their main problem or solution. I hope to be wrong, but i can’t imagine a world whit Zion satying healthy and playing consistently 65+ games per year.
I wouldn’t extend CJ just yet. His playoff run was something I wouldn’t want from a max offer. A guy like Jalen Duran or Mark Williams would be perfect for this team. They don’t need to make the rookie eligibility offer for Hayes then. I love Willie Green as their head coach. That team believes in him and he believes in that team. It’s a great pairing. Ultimately, the key thing is if Zion ever can play a full season, that’s the only way this team’s future will meet everyone’s expectations. They have proved they can make the playoffs WITHOUT Zion. It’s very hard to do in these days in the NBA to make the playoffs without your franchise player(s), but kudos to them on a great season!
I can’t imagine even CJ thinks he will be getting another max contract.
The Pelicans are right there on the cusp, all they need is Zion back and healthy and they’re a legit contender.
Sign and trade Zion to the Knicks for multiple picks and players, depending on how the draft goes. If they can get a top four pick, I could see Chet Holmgren falling and he would fit in nicely with Valanciunas in the low post, especially on defense, they would have Hayes too, three nice bigs, and could likely add players like Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, Miles McBride, or possibly Jokobatus. But I’d say two first round picks is a surety, and that will keep the Pelicans competitive for years to come while keeping their payroll in check.
Hayes has several good potential replacements in the top the draft at the 4. That would free up some capspace for next offseason, if they don’t extend him right away… Or ever, since he did not have playoff impact and plays Zion’s spot.
Zion could play other positions tho, just as Ingram or Jones could, and do, play guard. So NOLA does not have to draft a guard first, even if Ivey is there.
Hayes seems to be their weakest link imo
Even though I liked several people they brought into summer league, and really liked Trey Murphy in the draft (I thought he would go higher), I picked them to be the worst team in the NBA, and guys getting hurt or being moved helped them end up playing a bunch of guys that should have been playing previously. They still didnt quite get their rotation together, but i felt like they had a decent matchup against Phoenix b/c of their ability to matchup with them at the 4, and what I felt was an overall size advantage. I actually think it might have been even closer had they not played their true bigs when Ayton was out there so much, as good as Valanciunas is
Adding CJ gave them consistency at guard they’ve lacked for a couple of years. Having Murphy and Jones, among others, made losing Josh Hart not as painful as it would have been last year.
It’s funny how people act like certain players are revelations, but if you watched them in summer league, it wouldnt surprise you that guys like Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado can defend/play hard/the right way