Iron Man’s days may be numbered for Pelicans: future depends on other ingredients

The Pelicans lost to the Oklahoma Thunder on Tuesday at home 89-97 (21-21, 22-23, 28-26, 18-27) and ended their appearance in the NBA playoffs in the first round, losing the series to their opponents “dry” 0-4.

J. Valančiūnas finished the season with a nice statistical line – 19 points (6/14 doubles, 0/1 triples, 7/8 penalties) and 13 rebounds. It could have been JV’s last game in a Pelicans jersey as the center’s contract with the team expires this summer.

The Lithuanian’s final season averages are 12.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. All this in 23.5 minutes on the field. J. Valančiūnas played so little on average back in 2018-2019. in season

In three seasons in the ranks of the Pelicans, the center stood out with iron health – he played as many as 235 games out of 246 possible.

However, the rest of the most important players cannot boast of this. The Pelicans were without their leader Zion Williamson for the entire series against the Thunder, and this was especially felt in the offense, which never broke the 100-point mark and averaged just 89.5 points.

The Pelicans looked like they were going to be a serious contender for the championship when the trio of Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum came together in New Orleans. At times, the Pelicans looked like that when they were all healthy. But in the end, injuries kept the team down.

The trio never played a single playoff game together in their entire time together.

Despite this, the Pelicans posted a 49-win regular season, the second-best mark in club history, and Williamson played in 70 games. However, the leader fell apart at the most important time – he suffered an injury at the beginning of the playoffs and did not play in the series with the Oklahoma basketball players.

In the summer, the Pelicans will have to decide whether to give Ingram a four-year, $208 million deal. US dollar contract or turn in the other direction – the forward meets the last year of the contract.

This season, the American recorded 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

Although the statistics look nice, the biggest concern is the health of the 26-year-old basketball player – he played a maximum of 64 games in the last three seasons, and after the contract extension, the Pelicans will have to pay 115 million per season for their star trio alone. US dollars.

Another option is to trade B. Ingram and strengthen the positions where the team suffers the most. And here comes the time to talk about J. Valančiūnas.