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Pelicans add another wild cat to their front area. Julius Randle will sign with the Pelicans a two-year contract of $ 18 million with a player option for the second season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. In New Orleans, Randle will be united to his Kentucky counterpart Anthony Davis in what could be an exciting tandem. The signing of Randle could signal the departure of another Wildcat, however, as the future of DeMarcus Cousins in the Bayou ends. Cousins signed a one-year contract with the Golden State Warriors soon after, according to reports.
The Lakers relinquished Randle's rights on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent one day after Los Angeles signed LeBron James. Randle 's departure from Hollywood apparently has less to do with Kawhi Leonard' s pursuit of the team and more about the lack of commitment from the organization to go from there. before. The loss of the Lakers is the gain of the Pelicans, who were ready to leave Cousins after a season and a half. Let's note the case for New Orleans.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do in the NBA is simply going away. We saw it with Orlando this week, which brought Aaron Gordon back – a player without a doubt talented – despite a stalemate in the front zone. The pelicans could have re-signed Cousins, but he would probably have ordered a major contract despite recovering from a tear from Achilles. A Boogie signing would have been risky, especially after New Orleans seemed to perform better without him in the final season. (And Cousins did not have the same weight in New Orleans: in 642 minutes with Boogie on and AD off, the Pelicans had a net score of -2.4.)
Randle's signature accomplishes some things. It prevents a long-term commitment to Cousins. He adds a solid complement to Davis, someone who may not be a shooter but a big one who can play with rhythm, run the fastbreak and fight his way inside points. . And that gives the Pelicans options – if, for whatever reason, Randle turns out to be a bad choice, his modest contract should be a decent commercial chip. (Randle himself has the opportunity to become a free agent if he kills him next season.)
Randle played really well for the Lakers in the second half of 2017-18. After the All-Star break, Randle averaged 19.5 points in almost 32 minutes per game for LA. For the season, he shot 68.8% on goals within 10 feet – comparable to 69.7% of Davis
having to fend for himself. The pelicans should always consider closing the games with Davis in the center flanked by shooters instead of beating the minutes of Randle. But New Orleans entered this summer in a difficult place because of Cousins' injury. Thanks to LeBron, a slow market for grownups, and the fortuitous calendar, the pelicans have made one of the most astute signatures of the free agency.
Grade: A-
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