New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans have a lot of decisions to make as a franchise this offseason and they may have just “shown their hand” on what they plan to do in free agency. Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart are both restricted free agents this offseason for the Pelicans, but most recently, they made a big move to trade Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams and their 10th overall pick in Thursday’s draft for Jonas Valanciunas and cap space. 

Now, the Pelicans have a ton of available cap space and while they may not be considered a “dark-horse” anymore, there has been speculation that they will be targeting Kyle Lowry in free agency. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported last week that New Orleans plans to enter the race for Lowry in free agency. 

Lonzo Ball is a player the Pelicans do really like at the point guard position and they are definitely still entertaining the idea of bringing him back, but they will not do so if they can land Lowry. Not only does New Orleans want to avoid the hard cap, but they would not really have a need for Ball if Kyle Lowry is their point guard moving forward. 

With Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson as their two All-Star talents, the New Orleans Pelicans definitely have the foundation in play to be a “win-now” type of team and the addition of Valanciunas solidifies that for them.

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The Pelicans organization wants to make the playoffs and wants to do so immediately, which is why investing in Kyle Lowry seems like the most obvious choice for them to make after this trade with the Grizzlies.