Last summer, the new orleans Pelicans mistakenly overpaid a couple of role players and didn’t have a pleasant offseason. At the trade deadline, however, they made an enormous trade to land Kings star DeMarcus Cousins to pair with Anthony Davis. Going into this offseason, the Pelicans made sure to build a roster around those two.
Re-signing the most important piece
Outside of Cousins and Davis, the most important piece for the Pelicans was Jrue Holiday, who had a solid year last season. The veteran point guard averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds on 45 percent shooting, which is why the Pelicans were determined to re-sign him.
Once free agency began, the Pelicans didn’t waste time, agreeing to a five-year, $126 million deal with the 27-year-old point guard. After locking up Holiday long term, New Orleans focused on reconstructing the rest of the backcourt.
Adding more backcourt players
Before making any free agency moves, the Pelicans unnecessarily traded Tim Frazier to the Washington Wizards for a late second-round draft pick and later traded that pick for cash to the Indiana Pacers. Thankfully, they had a replacement for Frazier down the line.
Late in the offseason, the Pelicans made two more free agency acquisitions. They first signed Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $3.3 million bargain deal to reunite him with former Sacramento Kings teammate DeMarcus Cousins.
When Rondo and Cousins were teammates, they developed strong chemistry and enjoyed playing with one another, making this signing an underrated move. However, the Pelicans must figure out how they want to utilize both Rondo and Holiday.
After signing Rondo, New Orleans secured another solid backcourt piece, signing Ian Clark to a one-year, minimum deal.
Clark became an adequate contributor off Golden State’s bench last season. Attaining him for the minimum was a good move by the Pelicans, who will assign Clark to a role similar to the one he had with Golden State.
The 2017 NBA draft
The Pelicans didn’t own any first-round picks in the draft and traded a couple of their second-round picks.
However, they also acquired the 31st overall pick in a deal with the Charlotte Hornets and drafted point guard Frank Jackson, who has already been signed to a contract.
The Pelicans didn’t make many offseason moves, as they mainly focused on constructing their backcourt to compliment Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. Even so, it has been a decent summer for New Orleans, essentially maintaining the same level of talent.
Roster outlook
- PG: Rajon Rondo/Jrue Holiday/Frank Jackson
- SG: Jordan Crawford/E’Twaun Moore/Ian Clark/Charles Cooke
- SF: Solomon Hill/Quincy Pondexter/Darius Miller/Jalen Jones
- PF: Anthony Davis/Cheick Diallo
- C: DeMarcus Cousins/Alexis Ajinca/Omer Asik
- Coach: Alvin Gentry
Offseason Grade: C+
