The Pelicans, who had hoped to reach or surpass the 50-win mark this season, are spiraling due to injuries. At 4-12, there’s been some outside speculation that head coach Willie Green‘s job could be in jeopardy, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. However, Guillory doesn’t believe Green is in danger of losing his position, given that the team’s current starters include Brandon Boston Jr., Javonte Green and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl — Green wasn’t on the team until late August, while Boston was added the day before the regular season tipped off.
Even though those players have had some nice individual moments, it’s important to consider that Zion Williamson, Herbert Jones, CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray — most of the starting lineup — have all missed extensive time. Key rotation pieces like Trey Murphy, Jordan Hawkins and Jose Alvarado have also suffered injuries.
While the injuries are a large part of the Pelicans’ slow start, Guillory opines that Green could still be making some improvements as the schedule wears on. New Orleans has struggled in close games this year. However, Guillory doesn’t believe that any one person should be shouldering the blame, including the medical staff.
We have more from the Pelicans:
- Once the Pelicans get healthier, they’ll have some key rotation decisions to make. Rookie Yves Missi has been a bright spot this season and should be under consideration for the starting center spot when the team is healthy, Guillory suggests in the same mailbag. Still, Green might opt to close some games with Robinson-Earl or Jones (when he’s healthy) for spacing purposes. Guillory also sees Boston continuing to see some minutes when the team is closer to 100%. The fourth-year swingman has been impressive, averaging 12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on a two-way contract.
- While there still isn’t much smoke regarding a potential Brandon Ingram trade despite his pending unrestricted free agent status, Guillory expects any potential trade involving Ingram to bring back a starting-caliber center. Still, Guillory writes that it doesn’t make much sense to move assets when the team is far from playoff contention at the moment.
- In light of Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht exploding for 37 points, it’s easy to wonder if the Pelicans regret giving up that pick. The Pelicans had the rights to Los Angeles’s No. 17 overall pick (used on Knecht), but chose to defer the selection to a 2025 unprotected first-rounder. Guillory points out that adding another first-round salary would’ve been difficult, given the Pelicans’ current financial situation, and that punting on the selection and hoping the Lakers would have a rough season seemed like a better idea than taking another swing in an uncertain class. The Lakers are 10-4 and third in the Western Conference, so it looks like that first-round pick may end up being worse than No. 17.
- McCollum was upgraded to doubtful on the Pelicans’ latest injury report, according to Guillory (Twitter link). Hawkins was also upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game. It looks like both players will return from injury in the coming days, which lines up with recent reporting.
- In case you missed it, Elfrid Payton, signed to a contract on Wednesday, played well in his debut with the Pelicans.
CJ McCollum, Missi and picks of some sort for Claxton on the Nets. Sign Fultz
It would be hard to trade McCollum since he has a $30 million contract for next year. Pelicans would need to send a lottery 1st round pick to the Nets.
I also think that giving away Missi right now is a mistake. To be sure, Claxton is a good player and an excellent fit for the Pels roster when they’re healthy, but right now, they’re in a hospital ward. It’s one thing to talk about getting out of the early-season hole they’ve dug, but in a stacked Western Conference, it may be impossible to dig out of the hole even with splashy moves, especially since they’re already in the luxury tax and just 2.3 million short of their hard-cap at the 1st Apron.
It may be better for them to try and see what they have with their young and fringier guys while the meat of the squad gets healthy, then sell off what they can closer to the deadline to retool for next season. They’re already 5 games back of the 10th seed, and they’re not close to being healthy yet.
Sure. Protected top 5. Pelicans don’t need young players anymore. The time is now
No. Pelicans shouldnt regret not swapping picks with Lakers
Knecht was suppose to be a top 10 lottery pick based on mocks.
I dont think anyone thought hed fall to 17.
So to say they should regret not swapping picks is silly.