The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the bigger disappointments in the NBA a year ago when they finished with a 30-52 record that left them sitting 12th in the Western Conference standings. It would have been impossible to blame that record on the actual players after every player that was expected to be part of the rotation at the beginning of the season missed 15 games or more. It would have been almost impossible to make the playoffs with so many injuries to key players and the result was another promising season with Anthony Davis in his prime flushed down the toilet. The Pelicans are banking on their players staying healthy heading in to the 2016-17 season but after a relatively quiet offseason a return to the playoffs could be too much to ask.
Offseason Changes
The biggest addition made by New Orleans this offseason came at the NBA Draft, when they selected Buddy Hield with the sixth-overall pick. The Pelicans were desperate for a franchise shooting guard that could compliment Davis and excel as a pure scorer, and they found their answer when Hield fell to them at the draft. Many experts had expected him to be drafted sooner.
However, New Orleans didn’t do much else with the exception of losing Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon to the Houston Rockets. Anderson is a good three-point shooting big man but Gordon was rarely healthy enough to be relied upon. E’Twaun Moore and Langston Galloway were added as depth options in the Pelicans’ backcourt but the roster remained unchanged otherwise. The hope is that this team is as good as they were two years ago and that the injuries they suffered to the roster was the reason why they stumbled last year.
Strengths
This team is built around one of the most talented players in the entire NBA in Davis. The 23-year-old struggled to stay healthy last year but when he is in the lineup, he is one of the most dominant big men in the entire league. He has done well to develop his post moves and his outside shot, and he’s now one of the most complete players in the game.
The addition of Hield is key. He should be able to provide an immediate upgrade in terms of the New Orleans offense as a capable shooting guard that is ready for the NBA. Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday form a capable backcourt tandem when healthy but like Davis, they have both struggled to stay in the lineup. Beyond that, both have struggled to be the No. 2 scorer on the team. If Hield can step into that role, that will take pressure off of these two and they can serve their natural role, which would be providing a scoring spark off the bench (Evans) and running the offense (Holiday).
Weaknesses
The Pelicans’ lack of depth could be a major problem again this year as they continue to bank on players with long histories of injury issues to be key players. It won’t shock anybody if Davis, Evans and Holiday each missed a significant amount of games this season and the team’s lack of depth will be exposed again if that happens. Hield is a capable scorer but New Orleans will still be forced to deal with an overall lack of three-point scoring and that will limit the potential of the offense even when Davis is in the lineup.
Outlook
The Pelicans appeared to take a cautious approach to rebuilding their roster, selecting Hield in the NBA Draft and then adding some depth pieces rather than heavily pursuing a star talent. The reality is that New Orleans is not the most attractive destination for key free agents and that likely won’t change until they do a better job of building around Davis. There are too many injury-plagued players on this roster to think that they will go a whole season without having to deal with some significant blows. The Pelicans could compete for a playoff spot if they can stay relatively healthy but it’s hard to expect much beyond that this season.
Prediction: 4th in Southwest Division; 9th in Western Conference
