Mitchell Robinson was the perfect offseason target for the New Orleans Pelicans, but he just signed with the Boston Celtics.
Mitchell Robinson provided a perfect offseason target for the New Orleans Pelicans, and fans seemed excited about the idea of him being their big defensive addition, but that dream is now over as he has signed with the Boston Celtics, per ESPN's Sham Charania.
Robinson was given three years, $47.4 million by the Celtics, with a player option in the third season. That's about what he was expected to land. The Pelicans would have had to get off of either Jordan Poole or Jordan Hawkins' contracts to be able to pull it off, but that is the plan anyway.
The 7-footer went to high school and Chalmette, and would have offered a great compliment to New Orleans' front court. They desperately need a stronger, more aggressive defender next to Derik Queen. Yves Missi is making strides and developing well, but they could also use someone else.
Here are a couple of remaining center options on the market that would make sense for the Pelicans to pursue:
Andre Drummond
Drummond is another player, like Robinson, who has been covered a couple of times as a target, but he continues to make sense as the market around him continues to shrink. He might not be the most versatile talent, but he can rebound and rim-protect at the very least.
The 33-year-old also successfully added a three-point shot to his game last season (35.6% on 1.4 attempts), acting a little bit more as a floor spacer than previously.
Moussa Cisse
Cisse went undrafted last season out of Memphis. He was a five-star talent coming out of high school, but his offense never really developed and he stayed in college for five season. He's a defensive asset, though, and could be another young big for this staff to develop.
He was on a two-way deal with the Mavericks last year and is currently a restricted free agent, but changing coaching staffs and leadership over there could lead to New Orleans being able to steal him away. He averaged 4.5 points and 5.7 rebounds with 1.2 blocks per game last year. Dallas was a net +5.0 net rating with him on the court last year, in large part thanks to his offensive rebounding skills.
Other options
- Christian Koloko
- Kelly Olynyk
- Mason Plumlee
- Nick Richards
- Charles Bassey
- Trey Jemison III


