New Orleans Pelicans: Assessing the 2018 NBA offseason thus far

As the 2018 NBA offseason continues to unwind, we grade the New Orleans Pelicans’ moves thus far

The New Orleans Pelicans lost two starters to free agency.

For starters, Rajon Rondo signed a one-year, $9 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. This was not overly surprising. LeBron has said on record that he wants to play more off-ball than he did in Cleveland. This would help accomplish that. 

The shocking news came when DeMarcus Cousins signed to the taxpayer mid-level for one-year from Golden State.

The Pelicans went on a late regular season run without Cousins. Many, including myself, were skeptical. This team seemed like no more than a frisky fast break team capitalizing on opponents’ pre-playoff slumbers.

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This narrative flipped when New Orleans dismantled a woefully unprepared Blazers squad in the first round. Yes, the Pels were probably better off with Boogie, but were they better enough to commit to him while he recovers from a torn Achilles?

Dell Demps decided that the answer to that question was a resounding no. While the details of Boogie’s negotiations with New Orleans are murky, it’s clear they did not offer him close to what he was looking for.

The Pels instead signed Elfrid Payton to a one-year, $2.7 million contract. They then signed Julius Randle to a two-year, $18 million contract with a player option for the second year. These two players fit better than Cousins in Alvin Gentry’s preferred play style of aggressive defense and fast pace, and are signed to reasonable short-term deals.

Payton has struggled in the half court so far in his career. He is most comfortable pushing the ball, and will fill a similar role to Rondo.

Starting Rondo helped alleviate Jrue Holiday’s burden last regular season. Rondo was elite at finding guys in transition and throwing pinpoint lobs. He was able to burn teams in the regular season with these skills because teams did not gameplan for him.

Payton is not quite the passer that Rondo is, but he brings more defense and finishing ability than Rondo, who might have been the worst starting guard in the league at finishing and defense last season.

Payton will not fill Rondo’s weird puppet master role on offense, but can provide solid backup point guard play. Nevertheless, the Pelicans will have to look for other ways to preserve Jrue in an off-ball role without Rondo. Luckily, Randle really, really likes having the ball in his hands.

Randle has obvious strengths on offense. He has the skill and deft footwork to properly use his size and athleticism.

We have yet to see him apply these skills to a good offense. Randle often attacked out of the context and hunted for shots last season. There was not much of an offensive system in Los Angeles, but that was partially his fault. The ball often never left the paint after he caught it.

New Orleans was not exactly a pass-heavy holistic offense last season. Holiday and Davis were tasked with a great deal of self-creation, especially in the playoffs.

Randle will have some faceup opportunities with the ball because of how the Pelicans play in the half-court. However, he’ll need to at least make the obvious pass when it presents itself, and be okay with not getting to touch the ball every possession in the half-court.

Randle will shine in the fast break. He is comfortable pushing the ball off of rebounds, and can hopefully develop the vision and timing to find open shooters in transition.

The book is still out on him as a center defensively. He is best as a 5 offensively, but is not a proven rim protector. Luckily, playing alongside Davis should alleviate that.

Randle has the potential to cross-match onto power forwards, which will allow Davis to patrol the paint. Randle’s ability to hold up as a center on defense will determine whether or not he can play with Mirotic.

It’s still unclear how good this Pelicans team without pre-Achilles Boogie is. The playoffs are supposed to give a team an idea of where they stand, but it didn’t tell us much about the Pelicans.

The Blazers were a shell of themselves without a healthy Moe Harkless, and the Warriors were, well, the Warriors. New Orleans never met their match.

If they meet their match and find themselves lacking in several areas, all of their contracts except Davis and Holiday will be off the books in two years. They will then have another opportunity to build around their two stars. Anthony Davis will be a free agent in 2021, so finding difference makers in 2020 will be an important part of the Pelicans’ sales pitch to keep him in New Orleans.

Must Read: NBA Rumors: 5 best moves of the 2018 free agency period thus far

In order to maintain this flexibility, they have to keep the powder somewhat dry when Mirotic comes off the books and if Randle opts out next offseason.

Navigating this will be tricky, but at least they have a chance to clear up major space. They would not have this chance if they signed Boogie to a large multi-year contract. For the first time since drafting Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans made a major decision that makes sense for now and the future.