The New Orleans Pelicans don't have much to look forward to right now, but there is some light shining through the trees.
When asking almost any NBA fan, they would tell you that the New Orleans Pelicans are near the bottom of the league. Failing to win 30 games in back-to-back seasons will have the fans feeling down.
It isn't all bad for the team, though, as some things should make most fans see at least some light for the future. And that's even looking past the obvious of maybe this starting unit can gel like previous years and get back to the postseason. Of course, it very much hurts not having CJ McCollum's shooting.
Here are three areas with some positive outlook heading into the year:
Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen Made Strong First Impressions
No matter what happens with the attempt to push for the playoffs again without blowing the team up this year, they'll be able to fall back on Fears and Queen if they continue down the current paths of their careers. Believers of Yves Missi and Bennedict Mathurin will have even more reason to believe.
Even some who are very down on the team are so because they would actually rather the team just blow it up and lean towards the youth movement. Fears has the potential to be a Russell Westbrook-esque downhill point guard, while everyone called Queen "Baby Jokic" as a rookie.
This Coaching Staff Has Already Turned One Franchise Around
When Jamahl Mosley and his crew got to the Orlando Magic, they had come off a 21-51 record. The next season, when they got there, they were only able to improve to 22. Then the next year they got to 34; they then made the postseason the next three times. Even that 34-win roster was in a much worse spot than this Pelicans team. They did have Rookie of the Year Paolo that year and an improving Franz Wagner, but New Orleans should still have a better unit. Maybe coaching really is all this group needs.
Tons of Money Off Books Over Next Two Years
A main cause of this offseason being so lackluster is that the Pelicans have so much money tied up. Currently, they actually have too many players and are over the cap. A lot of that money is invested in areas that have not paid off.
Jordan Poole, for example, will take $34 million off the books next season. Jordan Hawkins, if not dealt with prior, will free up around $7 million. In two years, both Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray will be off. Those two make a combined AAV of $74 million. That's about $115 million in total AAVs. New Orleans will be open to making many more moves if they desire. Two likely in-house candidates to receive raises are Mathurin and Saddiq Bey.
