The New Orleans Pelicans haven't made a ton of moves this offseason, but there are a handful of deals that they have been in on, but just haven't closed. Joe Dumars has been honest about the fact that they just haven't found the right deals.
The most recent player connected to the Pelicans was recently signed Denver Nuggets forward DeMar DeRozan. When the signing was announced, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that DeRozan had talked to the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards and New Orleans before choosing the Nuggets.
At 37, DeRozan may no longer be the MVP candidate dropping almost 30 points a night, but he's still a very valuable player. Especially coming off the bench for a team who wants to compete for the postseason.
DeRozan posted 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game on 49.7/32.0/86.8 shooting splits last year for the Sacramento Kings. That wasn't a fantastic environment for successful basketball, but he still showed why a team would want him. He's an efficient scorer in the mid-range and will be in line to now take on a heavy offensive load when Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray are off the court.
Denver ended up signing him for $3.9 million, which is certainly in the range of what the Pelicans are looking to spend for a player. They have been in on a handful of wings across most of the offseason, but haven't been able to find that other offensive contributor that they are on the prowl for.
DeRozan would have been an odd fit in New Orleans. He is likely looking for a bigger offensive role than is available. He would be behind Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones and Saddiq Bey. Both Micah Peavy and Bryce McGowens are solid enough for what the Pelicans would have done with the veteran.
Going to the Nuggets, who had just traded Peyton Watson, made far more sense for the player and the team. Perhaps they had already landed on the fact that it would have been an odd fit, and that's why New Orleans ended up signing Trendon Watford a few days ago, filling out the roster. He doesn't have as much scoring value as DeRozan out of the forward spot, but is a little more versatile and lower-maintenance overall.
It would have been fun to see a player of DeRozan's caliber suit up for the Pelicans for a season, but where both parties are at right now it isn't much of a miss.
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