The New Orleans Pelicans have had a quiet offseason for the most part. Their biggest goal this offseason was to sign Zion Williamson to an extension, despite the fact that he didn’t set foot on the court last season. Either way, the Pelicans handed Williamson the rookie maximum extension, securing his future with the team.
Heading into the 2022-23 season, New Orleans has a strong core group built around Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum. The Pelicans came on strong to close the season, and even gave the Phoenix Suns a run for their money in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs before bowing out after six games.
The Pelicans didn’t have a lot of moves to make this offseason, but the ones they made got the job done. Still, there was a big move the Pelicans needed to make that they ended up not doing, and it may come back to bite them in the future. Let’s take a look at what that move was and how it could impact the Pelicans.
Pelicans offseason move they needed to make
Extend Jackson Hayes
New Orleans’ core group is in place. But the one guy that they failed to account for this offseason was Jaxson Hayes, who was eligible for an extension this offseason. Hayes hasn’t been super consistent to start his career, but he showed a lot of promise last season, and a breakout campaign could be on the horizon for him.
The Pelicans have committed a lot of money to Williamson, Ingram, and McCollum. As a result, they have their work cut out for them building a strong roster to support these guys. For the most part, they have done so for the 2022-23 season, but doing so well into the future could be tough.
One of the moves that could become impossible to make is an extension for Hayes, depending on how much he improves. Right now, Hayes could be inked to a fairly cheap contract that would be pretty team-friendly for the Pelicans. Hayes hasn’t done much to prove himself to be worthy of a massive deal yet, but that doesn’t mean he won’t in the future.
Hayes is a springy young center/power forward who has the potential to become a really solid two-way paint presence for New Orleans in the future. He is a very strong finisher in the paint, and has already begun to build a solid highlight reel of dunks in his young three-season career. Hayes has also been working to become a more comfortable three-point shooter, and while he still has a long way to go, he’s become more confident in his shot in a short amount of time.
Hayes is still figuring things out, though, which makes a lot of sense. He’s only 22 years old, and he struggles to find ways to get involved in games from time to time. Those are things that will sort themselves out in the future, but for now, Hayes’ progress early in his career has been quite encouraging.
That’s why it would have made sense to hand him an extension this offseason. Hayes is on the verge of figuring things out, and by signing him to a long-term deal before he has fully reached his potential, the Pelicans could potentially walk their way into a very team-friendly deal. Instead, New Orleans has not really shown any intention of extending Hayes this offseason.
Hayes fits the Pelicans timeline perfectly, and for the most part, it seems like New Orleans considers him to be a big part of their future plans. Why they wouldn’t want to extend him this offseason doesn’t really make a lot of sense, as it could have a significant payoff for the franchise in the future.
By ignoring a potential extension for Hayes, the Pelicans are making themselves vulnerable. If Hayes breaks out this season, his value will increase and make it much more difficult for the Pelicans to extend him. It’s still doable, but why wait and potentially expose yourself to a bigger contract when you could extend him now for a cheaper deal?
There’s a chance Hayes doesn’t breakout, and New Orleans can buy themselves an extra year of Hayes on a team-friendly deal by revisiting this conundrum next offseason. But Hayes had a strong 2021-22 season for the Pels, and it seems more likely that he will improve rather than stay in place or regress. Hayes knows his role with the team moving forward, and that could result in him taking a big step forward that will make the Pelicans look foolish.
