Pelicans 2024 NBA free agency grades for every signing
07/25/2024 08:06 PM
The New Orleans Pelicans have had a relatively quiet NBA free agency period with their main offseason move coming via trade. The Pelicans added Dejounte Murray in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks in hopes of becoming a perennial contender in the Western Conference. But the Pelicans did have a couple of signings during the free agency period, highlighted by the acquisition of Daniel Theis.
While the Pelicans lost their starting center in Jonas Valanciunas and two key reserves in Larry Nance Jr. and Naji Marshall, the Murray acquisition still has them as one of the deeper teams in the West rotation-wise. The starting center position is not yet decided upon, but the Murray trade ensures that both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy will likely come off the bench. Both of those players are starting caliber on many other teams in the league.
Coming into the NBA free agency period, the team just needed to shore up some of their bench depth. The Pelicans did so with their signings. As always, health is going to be the major factor in determining the Pelicans postseason chances. They were looking like a team that could possibly put a scare into a higher seed, until Zion Williamson got hurt late in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in the play-in.
Daniel Theis gives Pelicans a quality backup center
Heading into the offseason, the backup center market was quite limited. The Pelicans often played Larry Nance at backup center last season, but he’s always been more of a forward. The only real backup center the Pelicans had on the roster last season was Cody Zeller who is limited as a player.
The signing of Daniel Theis was a good move for the Pelicans. Theis was one of the best options available on the free agent market. His playing time with the Los Angeles Clippers dwindled towards the playoffs last season, but he’s still capable of being a solid contributor.
Theis knows his strengths and doesn’t veer from that. He may be a little undersized, but he’s a rugged rebounder and can actually hold his own defensively against some bigger players. He’s a lob threat and he can space the floor with his three-point shooting. The Clippers needed him when Mason Plumlee went down with an injury and he excelled in his role. He shot 37.1 percent from distance over 59 games with the Clippers.
Final Grade: A
Jamal Cain could earn a regular roster spot with Pelicans
Presently, the Pelicans have 14 roster spots filled and two of their three available two-way contract slots filled. The team signed Jamal Cain as one of their two-way players. Coming up on his third season in the NBA, this will be Cain’s final season of two-way contract eligibility. There’s a good chance the Pelicans end up leaving that final roster spot open going into training camp, but Cain could ultimately earn that spot.
Last season, both Matt Ryan and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl earned standard roster spots with the Pelicans after starting out on two-way contracts. Cain has spent the past two seasons learning and developing in the Miami Heat’s system while playing on two-way contracts. He’ll likely spend most of the 2024-25 season with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans G League affiliate.
Cain is a lengthy defender who can guard multiple positions. He can knock down the open three-point shot and he has started developing an off the dribble game. He’s arguably more talented than either of the Pelicans’ last two-way conversions in Ryan and Robinson-Earl. Don’t be surprised to see him get early playing time to begin the season and possibly earns the final roster spot. Cain is most certainly a low-risk, high-reward type signing.
Final Grade: A
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