The New Orleans Pelicans are going to reunite with one of their key players from the bench last season, Dante Cunningham. According to reports, Cunningham is coming back to Louisiana and is set to ink a one-year deal that will earn him $2.3 million.
The amount of Cunningham's new contract with the Pelicans is cheaper than the player option ($3.1 million) he turned down earlier in the offseason. He left New Orleans and attempted to land a multi-year deal, but he was unsuccessful. In his return, there is a huge chance that he will start either at small forward or power forward.
The small forward position needs an extra body after Solomon Hill, who was the projected starter, went down with an injury. Meanwhile, the power forward position lacks experience and veteran leadership, which Cunningham can provide.
In the 2016-17 season, Cunningham played 66 games (35 starts) for the Pelicans. In those appearances, he averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds, in 25.0 minutes per outing. The 2017-18 season will be his fourth year representing New Orleans.
Different reunion
Before Cunningham decided to rejoin the Pelicans, one former team of his showed interest in bringing him back. The Minnesota Timberwolves were eyeing Cunningham a couple of weeks ago. The former second-round pick suited up for the Timberwolves in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
The reason why Minnesota had him on its radar was that the team aimed to add a wing player. The Timberwolves already addressed that problem by re-signing Shabazz Muhammad.
Martell Webster to New Orleans
Aside from Cunningham, there is one more experienced forward that will be with the Pelicans in training camp. A few days ago, there were reports that Martell Webster agreed to a non-guaranteed pact with the Pelicans.
The last time Webster saw action was during the 2015 NBA Playoffs when he was with the Washington Wizards. The 30-year-old also had stints with the Portland Trail Blazers (drafted him sixth overall in 2005) and the Timberwolves.
It is likely that with the Pelicans, Webster will compete for the backup role at small forward. As mentioned, Cunningham is expected to start, that means Webster must outperform Darius Miller to be the second-stringer at the position. Similar to Webster, Miller last participated in an NBA game in the 2014-15 season. He then continued his career in Germany before his comeback to New Orleans.
