The phrase “just wait until they get healthy” is cruelly always in the lexicon of New Orleans Pelicans fans, as the team constantly weathers injury problems to important members of their roster. Misfortune is striking the Smoothie King Center particularly early this season, with offseason addition Dejounte Murray, fellow guard CJ McCollum and defensive linchpin Herb Jones all sidelined for an extended period of time.
Unforeseen setbacks require a swift response from management. Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is trying to supply head coach Willie Green with a little more depth following his latest move. NBA guard and 2019 Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaylen Nowell is agreeing to terms with New Orleans, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Nowell is entering his seventh year in The Association, averaging 9.1 points on 44.7 percent shooting in 184 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves before spending brief stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons. He joined the Washington Wizards in August but was waived at the end of training camp. The Pelicans' bad luck is providing the second-round draft pick with an opportunity to log rotation minutes once again.
The shorthanded Pelicans have to get creative
Although Jordan Hawkins is emerging in the absence of Murray and McCollum, the team is in need of more bodies. Nowell is not going to daze defenses like he did while leading the Washington Huskies (averaged 16.1 points per game in two seasons), but he has the ability to provide a slight spark off the bench.
New Orleans (3-3) is just trying to stay above water in the first stretch of the 2024-25 season, and Nowell could help form a life raft. Murray could miss more than a month with a left hand fracture, and McCollum and Jones are expected to be unavailable for a couple of weeks due to an abductor strain and shoulder strain, respectively.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans stars whose health status is often most mired in doubt, must carry a massive share of the offensive responsibilities until the team gets healthier. But maybe the supporting cast, which now includes the 25-year-old Jaylen Nowell, can catch fire on occasion.
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