2019 Offseason In Review: New Orleans Pelicans
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Signings:
- Standard contracts:
- J.J. Redick: Two years, $26.5MM. Signed using cap room.
- Darius Miller: Two years, $14.25MM. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
- Nicolo Melli: Two years, $8MM. Signed using room exception.
- Two-way contracts:
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Jalen Adams: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Javon Bess: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Kavell Bigby-Williams: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
Trades:
- Acquired the Warriors’ 2021 second-round pick, the Warriors’ 2023 second-round pick, and cash ($1MM) from the Warriors in exchange for the draft rights to Alen Smailagic (No. 39 pick).
- Acquired Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the Lakers’ 2021 first-round pick (9-30 protected; unprotected in 2022), the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick (unprotected), the right to swap 2023 first-round picks with the Lakers, and cash ($1.1MM from Wizards; $1MM from Lakers) in a three-team trade with the Lakers and Wizards in exchange for Anthony Davis (to Lakers).
- Note: The Pelicans will have the option to defer the 2024 first-round pick to 2025.
- Acquired the draft rights to Jaxson Hayes (No. 8 pick), the draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17 pick), the draft rights to Marcos Louzada Silva (No. 35 pick), and the Cavaliers’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected) from the Hawks in exchange for Solomon Hill, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick), and the Pelicans’ 2023 second-round pick (31-45 protected).
- Note: The Cavaliers’ protected 2020 first-rounder will become two second-round picks (2021 and 2022) if it’s not conveyed in 2020.
- Acquired Derrick Favors from the Jazz in exchange for the Warriors’ 2021 second-round pick and the Warriors’ 2023 second-round pick.
Draft picks:
- 1-1: Zion Williamson — Signed to rookie contract.
- 1-8: Jaxson Hayes — Signed to rookie contract.
- 1-17: Nickeil Alexander-Walker — Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-35: Marcos Louzada Silva — Will play overseas (Australia).
Departing players:
- Dairis Bertans (waived)
- Trevon Bluiett (two-way)
- Ian Clark
- Anthony Davis
- Cheick Diallo
- Solomon Hill
- Stanley Johnson
- Elfrid Payton
- Julius Randle
- Christian Wood (waived)
Other offseason news:
- Hired David Griffin as executive VP of basketball operations.
- Hired Trajan Langdon as general manager.
- Hired Swin Cash as VP of basketball operations and team development.
- Exercised 2020/21 option on head coach Alvin Gentry.
- Hired Jeff Bzdelik as lead defensive assistant coach to replace Darren Erman.
- Darius Miller suffered ruptured Achilles; team awarded disabled player exception.
- Nicolo Melli underwent knee surgery.
- Established new G League team (Erie BayHawks).
- Hired Greivis Vasquez as associated head coach of Erie BayHawks.
Salary cap situation:
- Used cap space; now over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $114.76MM in guaranteed salary.
- $664K of room exception still available ($4.1MM used on Nicolo Melli).
- $3.625MM disabled player exception available (expires on 3/10/2020).
Story of the summer:
It’s rare that an NBA team is able to transition from one franchise player to a new one as cleanly as the Pelicans did this offseason.
Okay, maybe “clean” isn’t the right adjective to describe a saga that began with Anthony Davis publicly issuing a midseason trade request that torpedoed New Orleans’ 2018/19 season and mired the club in second-half turmoil. That was actually kind of a mess.
But things looked significantly less messy after the Pelicans landed the No. 1 overall pick at the draft lottery in May, putting them in position to select Zion Williamson, the most hyped prospect to enter the NBA since… well, maybe Davis himself.
The Pelicans later turned the page on the Davis era by trading the big man to the Lakers, and despite the fact that they had little leverage to send him anywhere except his preferred destination, the Pels made out pretty well in the deal, acquiring multiple young players and future first-round picks.
As AD exited the frame and Zion entered, the Pelicans also underwent an important transition in the front office, where David Griffin was hired as the team’s new head of basketball operations. For years, the Pels had essentially been overseen by the New Orleans Saints’ management team, giving them the feel of a junior varsity squad. But Griffin’s arrival signaled an important changing of the guard.
Besides bringing a championship pedigree to the Pelicans, Griffin brought something more important: a focus on building an infrastructure and a culture. Whether that means overhauling the medical staff, building up the team’s analytics department, or addressing any other holes that had been left unfilled in the past, Griffin prioritized building that sustainable infrastructure from day one.
Williamson will be the face of the franchise for years to come, but if Griffin’s work is successful, this could also be remembered as the summer that the Pelicans moved out from the Saints’ shadow and began building a winning culture of their own.
Unless something goes wrong, Williamson should ultimately be the most impactful addition of the offseason for the Pelicans. The club may handle Zion with kid gloves in his rookie season after some minor injury issues during the spring and summer, but given his immense talent and exceptional athleticism, he’s capable of having a major on-court impact right away.Raptors Notes: Siakam, Lowry, Anunoby
A report this week indicated that the Raptors and Pascal Siakam‘s representatives have engaged in preliminary discussions about a potential rookie scale contract extension. Speaking today to reporters, president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri confirmed that there have been conversations between the two sides and expressed no doubt that a deal will get done either by the October 21 deadline or during the 2020 offseason, when Siakam would be a restricted free agent.
“We’ve had conversations with Pascal’s representation,” Ujiri said (video link via Sportsnet.ca). “We’re excited. Whether it’s going to be this fall or whether it’s going to be in the summer, he’s somebody we’re definitely going to keep for a long time here.”
It remains to be seen what sort of price the Raptors will have to pay to lock up Siakam long-term, or whether they’ll end up waiting until the summer of 2020. The NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player said that he’ll leave the negotiations up to his agents, but he’s looking forward to being a Raptor for the foreseeable future.
“I love Toronto,” Siakam told Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). “I love being here and I’m definitely hopeful we can get it done.”
Here’s more out of Toronto:
- Siakam isn’t the only extension candidate in Toronto. Kyle Lowry confirmed at Media Day that his people have talked to the Raptors about a new deal, adding that he’s not worried about his upcoming free agency, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic. The veteran point guard said his contract situation is an “ongoing conversation,” tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic.
- As Murphy writes in his full round-up of Raptors Media Day, Ujiri admitted that the team will likely treat Lowry’s upcoming free agency a little differently than it would for other veterans on expiring contracts, given his legacy status with the franchise. Murphy suggests “it sure sounds like” Toronto wants to retain Lowry beyond 2019/20.
- Serge Ibaka said that he gave Kawhi Leonard space to go through free agency without trying to influence his decision, tweets Lewenberg. “After he made his decision, we spoke on the phone,” Ibaka said. “I said, ‘You know what bro, I’m a little sad you’re leaving us, it’s disappointing as a friend, but I’m happy for you.'”
- OG Anunoby, who received praise from Ujiri and head coach Nick Nurse today, isn’t lacking any confidence in the Raptors’ ceiling even with Kawhi no longer on the roster, as Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets. “I think we’re gonna repeat,” Anunoby said. “We have a really good team and we believe in ourselves, and that’s all that matters.”
- Some of Anunoby’s teammates expressed their confidence a little more cautiously. “I think it’s a very hungry team,” Marc Gasol said, per Lewenberg. “We all understand what Kawhi meant to the team and how well he played in the playoffs. But we also understand how good we can be as a team. So we are going to invest everything needed to be that team.”
- Anunoby also said that he didn’t get his energy back until mid-July after undergoing an appendectomy last spring and said that winning the starting small forward job will be a priority for him this fall (Twitter links via Lewenberg).
Latest On Victor Oladipo
Several NBA teams have shared health updates on their injured players as they report for training camps and attend Media Day sessions, but the Pacers – who held their Media Day on Friday – still aren’t providing a specific recovery timetable for Victor Oladipo. The All-Star guard, who is coming back from a ruptured quad tendon, has been ruled out for the start of the season but participated in everything except scrimmages on Indiana’s first day of camp, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star.
“He spent the first 20 to 30 minutes of practice going through drills,” head coach Nate McMillan said of Oladipo. “Nothing with contact. Basically the warm-up part of practice. That was good enough for me to see him out on the floor with his teammates.”
Oladipo has at least been ruled out for the start of the season. Beyond that, there’s no specific return date that he and the Pacers are aiming for, or at least none that they’re willing to announce publicly. But Michael suggests that December or January might be a good bet for when we can expect to see Oladipo back on the court. Teammate Myles Turner expressed optimism for a December or January return as well, per Michael Marot of The Associated Press.
“I’ve heard some people say after the All-Star break, but I just know how Vic’s wired,” Turner said. “He’s been attacking the whole process. He’s already doing stuff on the court.”
With Oladipo out, newly-signed guard Malcolm Brogdon will be leaned on even more heavily in the first couple months of the season. In the wake of his $85MM payday, Brogdon acknowledged that there’s a “different level of expectations” for him in Indiana than in Milwaukee, writes Michael.
For his part, Oladipo sounds confident that Brogdon and his other Pacers teammates will be just fine in his absence — and that he’ll help elevate them even further when he returns. As Mark Montieth of Pacers.com relays, Oladipo said on Friday that he believes Indiana is “the best team in the East” and that he’s going to play even better upon returning than he did before his injury.
“When I say I’m coming back better than ever, I’m not just saying that because it sounds good,” Oladipo said. “I truly believe that.”
Rockets Notes: Bennett, Pinckney, Anderson
While outside shooting was always part of Anthony Bennett‘s game, he has spent the past few seasons refining his three-point shot in preparation for his next NBA opportunity. That opportunity has come with the Western Conference contender Houston Rockets.
Bennett will have to wait to showcase the improvements he’s made to his game, however. As Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes, the 26-year-old will begin training camp on the sidelines recovering from left knee tendinitis.
The Rockets currently have just 11 fully guaranteed contracts on their roster, which leaves ample room for a player like Bennett to stick with the squad when the regular season begins. If Bennett’s impact when he returns to health is anything like it was in the G League when he shot 45.3% from beyond the arc last season, there’s a good chance that he does just that.
There’s more out of Houston today:
- The Rockets came up with a creative way of structuring big man Nene‘s contract to increase his potential trade value but the NBA threw a wrench their plans. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, franchise owner Tilman Fertitta respects the league’s decision and doesn’t intend to question it.
- The Rockets have hired former NBA assistant coach Ed Pinckney as a scout, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets.
- Not only has the offensive system not changed since Ryan Anderson last donned a Rockets jersey, but he still owns the same condo that he used to live in. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes about Anderson’s smooth transition back to Houston.
Five Key Stories: 9/21/19 – 9/28/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
Nets GM Sean Marks quashed speculation that Kevin Durant may try to return before the end of the season. There had been talk around the league that Durant could recover from a torn Achilles in time to help Brooklyn late in the season and into the playoffs. “The expectation now is that he’ll be out for the year,” Marks told reporters. “We’re not going to plan on him playing.”
Andre Iguodala reached an agreement with the Grizzlies that won’t require him to report to training camp. Iguodala, who played an important role on the Warriors‘ five straight trips to the NBA Finals, was traded to Memphis over the offseason to open up cap room. He will remain apart from his new team as it tries to work out a trade.
The NBA fined the Bucks $50K for publicly discussing their desire to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a super-max contract. At a televised fan event, GM Jon Horst talked about giving the reigning MVP that new deal, which violates league rules because Antetokounmpo isn’t eligible yet.
It appears the Celtics won’t reach a rookie scale extension agreement with Jaylen Brown before the October 21 deadline. A source called the chances “pretty slim,” which means Brown would become a restricted free agent next summer.
Markelle Fultz received full medical clearance to participate in Orlando’s training camp. The No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft was traded to the Magic last winter, but hasn’t played for them because of thoracic outlet syndrome.
Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:
- Joakim Noah‘s scheduled workout for the Clippers was canceled. The veteran center remains unsigned as training camps around the league will be open by Tuesday.
- The Grizzlies won’t bring newly acquired forward Josh Jackson to camp and will have him begin the season in the G League. The Suns picked Jackson fourth overall in 2017, but a series of off-court incidents combined with disappointing performance have caused his stock to drop. He was shipped to Memphis this summer in a salary dump.
- The Lakers announced that Kyle Kuzma will be out of action for a while because of a stress reaction in his left foot. Kuzma will undergo an MRI, but not until mid-October after the team returns from China.
- Troy Brown will miss all of Wizards camp with a left calf strain. His prognosis has him returning around October 22, the night before the team’s season opener.
- The Cavaliers won’t have first-round pick Dylan Windler when the season opens because of a left tibial stress reaction. He will undergo treatment for four to six weeks before trying to play again.
- The Pelicans were awarded a Disabled Player Exception in the wake of Darius Miller‘s torn Achilles. New Orleans will have $3.625MM to work with, which is half of Miller’s salary for this season.
- The Mavericks picked up third-year options for 2020/21 on Luka Doncic and Justin Jackson. Doncic won Rookie of the Year honors last season, while Jackson played well after being acquired from the Kings in February.
- The Trail Blazers exercised options for Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons.
- Zach Randolph declared that he’s not ready to leave the NBA at age 38. Randolph spent last season with the Kings and Mavericks, but didn’t play a game for either team.
- LaMelo Ball is moving up draft boards and may be considered for the top pick in 2020.
Heat, Erik Spoelstra Agree To Four-Year Extension
3:56pm: The extension will cover four years, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link)
3:25pm: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will sign a long-term extension with the team, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Spoelstra, who had one year left on his current deal, has been negotiating an extension behind the scenes.
Spoelstra, 48, is about to begin his 12th season in Miami, ranking him second to the Spurs‘ Gregg Popovich for the longest current tenure with one organization. He has a 523-363 coaching record and a pair of NBA titles.
[RELATED: Longest-Tenured NBA Head Coaches]
As Wojnarowski notes, Spoelstra has spent his entire career with the Heat, starting as a video coordinator in 1995. He was later promoted to assistant coach, then replaced Pat Riley as head coach in 2008.
Thunder To Sign DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, who spent part of last season on a two-way contract with the Nuggets, will join the Thunder for training camp, tweets JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors. League sources tell Shaw that the free agent shooting guard has agreed to a partially guaranteed contract.
Akoon-Purcell, 26, signed with Denver last summer and saw limited action in seven NBA games before being waived in December. He spent time with Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel and finished the season with ESSM Le Portel in France.
The addition leaves Oklahoma City with two open roster spots ahead of the start of training camp on Tuesday. Once the Thunder make it official with Akoon-Purcell, they’ll have 15 players signed to standard contracts (13 fully guaranteed), along with both two-way slots filled and a reported agreement with Eric Moreland.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/21/19 – 9/28/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- In a poll, we asked readers if the Pelicans‘ Zion Williamson is a lock for Rookie of the Year.
- Our Offseason in Review series continued as we looked back at the summer moves made by the Chicago Bulls.
- In this week’s Community Shootarounds, we asked:
Western Notes: Walton, Chandler, Nuggets, Hardaway
Kings players already feel a closer bond with new coach Luke Walton than they did with previous coach Dave Joerger, Jason Jones of The Athletic reports. Having a coach that would help bring in free agents and make current roster members want to stay in Sacramento is part of the reason why Walton was hired.
“He just comes in, and it’s an instant connection,” Kings guard Buddy Hield told Jones. “He’s played before so he knows that player relationship and now he’s a coach so he knows how to relate to us, so that’s big coming from him.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Mentoring Clint Capela is a major reason why the Rockets brought in veteran center Tyson Chandler, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. Chandler signed a one-year contract in July. The Rockets want Capela to become an elite defensive presence and anchor and Chandler will help facilitate that process.
- Rockets guard Eric Gordon enters the preseason as a starter but Danuel House could make a push for that status, Iko adds in the same piece.
- The Nuggets have promoted John Beckett from director of player development to full-time assistant coach, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports tweets. Ognjen Stojakovic has taken over Beckett’s previous spot, while Boniface N’Dong has been added to the player development staff.
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle believes Tim Hardaway Jr. has been cleared to participate in training camp, Dwain Price of the team’s website tweets. Hardaway met this week with the surgeon that performed the surgery in April on his left tibia and got a positive review. Hardaway’s availability for camp would coincide with the anticipated timetable following the surgery.
Community Shootaround: West Also-Rans
With training camps opening up, we will soon find out if the offseason moves have turned last season’s also-rans into playoff contenders.
In the Western Conference, it’s safe to assume the Lakers are firmly in the postseason picture — and a serious championship contender — with Anthony Davis joining forces with LeBron James. It’s also easy to deduce that the subtractions of Russell Westbrook and Paul George will drop Oklahoma City out of the playoff chase.
Are there any Western Conference teams that missed last season’s playoffs who have improved enough to reach the postseason?
The Kings, who finished with the ninth-best record in the West, are intriguing. They have a good young core led by De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III. They re-signed Harrison Barnes and added another solid veteran forward in Trevor Ariza.
The Timberwolves have one of the league’s best big men in Karl-Anthony Towns and the Jimmy Butler drama from early last season is a fading memory. If coach Ryan Saunders can get more out of Andrew Wiggins, and if lottery pick Jarrett Culver can make an immediate impact, they could improve.
The Grizzlies probably need a couple more years but have two building blocks in high lottery picks Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Pelicans are a lot closer than the Grizzlies after winning the lottery and drafting the most highly-touted prospect in years, Zion Williamson. They no longer have AD but they acquired three rotation pieces in Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. They also added proven veterans in Derrick Favors and J.J. Redick and still have Jrue Holiday.
The Mavericks had to wait half a season to see what Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic could do together. After sitting out last season, Porzingis is ready for a fresh start in Dallas.
The Suns won only 19 games but now they’ve got a respected floor leader in Ricky Rubio to elevate the play of their stars, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
That brings us to our question of the day: Other than the Lakers, which Western Conference team that missed the playoffs last season has the best chance to reach the postseason?
Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion. We look forward to what you have to say.