30 after a torn labrum derailed his 2012-13 season in February, and John Reid of the Times Picayune reported that Smith was immediately practicing with full intensity. Jason Smith - He had his first full-contact practice on Sept. Of course, the Pelicans paid for him like they would any luxury item he signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Pelicans in the offseason. Evans has the size, ability and knowledge to fill in at the one, two or three, and with a young team whose starting shooting guard has a history of injuries, that's a luxury. He'll come off the bench but play a ton of minutes in New Orleans, spelling Gordon or Anderson. Tyreke Evans - Evans appears to be the new Manu Ginobili, as SB Nation's Tom Ziller called him in projecting Evans as the 48th-best player in the league in the year 2017. The best part of his game, his defense, still didn't quite catch up to the league.
Davis missed 18 games as a rookie, but he still averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. He began to develop a solid repertoire of post moves and a consistent jumper that stretches out to 19- or 20-feet. What he showed in the last half of his lone college season that went largely underreported was his skills as an offensive player. He was, by all measures and assessments, a freak athlete with once-in-a-generation defensive instincts and shot-blocking timing. 1 pick in 2012-in his one season at Kentucky mostly because of his defensive ability. He struggles defensively, the biggest area hampering his development after winning the 2012 Most Improved Player award.Īnthony Davis - Davis made his name known-and his status secured as the No. He's a true stretch-four who should be an interesting complement to Anthony Davis moving forward. Because he's well known for his perimeter shooting ability, his mid-range game gets overlooked, but he shot 46.4 percent from inside the arc last season and made a career-high 6.8 field goals per 36 minutes. He took 557 three-pointers last season and 558 two-pointers. Ryan Anderson - Anderson is really good at shooting threes. He started 71 games last year, but that won't be the case in 2013-14. One thing he can't do well is shoot, but the Pelicans have plenty of guys who can do that. Aminu is an athletic wing who uses his athleticism mostly to defend and rebound, though he can get to the basket too.
When he's healthy, Gordon is a tremendous scoring asset.Īl-Farouq Aminu - The Pelicans signed Aminu to a one-year, $3.7 million deal in July after declining the last year on his rookie contract. Gordon has only played in at least 60 games twice in his five seasons so far, and he had offseason ankle surgery but should be ready by the time the season begins. He finished his 42-game season with 17 points per game (his lowest since averaging 16.9 as a league sophomore in 2009-10) on a career-low 40.2 shooting percentage. But once Gordon played, he led New Orleans in scoring. Perhaps the strength of Holiday's game is his defense.Įric Gordon - Gordon didn't make his season debut last year until late December while he recovered from a knee injury that he healed through rehabilitation instead of surgery. He may not score at that rate in New Orleans, but the assist opportunities may increase with Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson to feed. His 17.7 points and eight assists per game were career-highs, and both were so by a long shot. Holiday had a breakout season a year ago when he made his first All-Star game in his age-22 season, his fourth in the league. So on draft night, the Sixers sent Holiday, their All-Star point guard, to New Orleans for Nerlens Noel (who had just put on his Pelicans hat at the draft) and a 2014 first-rounder. Jrue Holiday - The Philadelphia 76ers needed something-or, as it were, a few somethings-to rebuild around, and the Pelicans' almost-there roster was a good fit. Will the new additions get New Orleans into the playoffs in the always treacherous Western Conference? There's plenty of competition for postseason spots even at the bottom of the conference, but the Pelicans' roster is young enough to make a big leap forward possible. THE BIRD WRITES: Season preview from our Pelicans blog More Pelicans previews ZILLER: Pelicans new guard trio could be special
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