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New Orleans Pelicans: Did Norris Cole Deserve An Extension?

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Norris Cole (30) reacts after scoring against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 123-119 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Norris Cole (30) reacts after scoring against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 123-119 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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As first reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Norris Cole has signed a one-year qualifying offer worth $3.03 million with the New Orleans Pelicans. The deal, which has a no-trade clause, will keep the Pellies’ backup point guard in NOLA for another year before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The question is, should the Pelicans have tried harder to sign him to a multi-year extension?

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Cole, who will turn 27 next month, was dealt to New Orleans in a midseason three-team trade involving the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns, which also moved Shawne Williams and Justin Hamilton to the Pelicans. In 28 games with the team, Cole averaged a career high 9.9 points and 3.2 assists in 24.4 minutes per game.

He also shot 44.4 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from three-point range — both career highs.

Cole only averaged 8.8 points and 1.8 assists per game on .417/.214/.667 shooting splits in the postseason, but he was a terrier on the defensive end and looked like one of the more comfortable ball handlers  on the floor despite playing behind Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans in the backcourt.

In that four-game series, Cole’s numbers were slightly down, but he was still a positive presence on the floor for New Orleans in a brutal first round matchup against the eventual NBA champions. It’s no surprise that Cole wasn’t afraid of the moment, given that he played in the NBA Finals in each of his first three seasons in the league with the Heat.

That kind of championship experience, even for a player who’s only played four seasons in the league, could be beneficial to a Pelicans squad hoping to take the next step behind Anthony Davis‘ continued monster growth in 2015-16.

With Cole signing that qualifying offer, New Orleans has at least one more year to evaluate his value, pitting the experience he brings to the table against his being undersized at 6’2″.

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    • But if we take a look around the league, can an argument be made that the Pelicans should have offered him a more lucrative, multiyear deal?

    The deals vary by a wide margin, but new deals for guards of similar value like Austin Rivers (two years, $6.4 million), Gerald Green (one year, $1 million), Rajon Rondo (one year, $10 million), Cory Joseph (four years, $30 million) C.J. Watson (three years, $15 million), Jeremy Lin (two years, $4 million), J.J. Barea (two years, $6 million) and Gary Neal (one year, $2.1 million) offer some perspective.

    Based on those parameters (throw Joseph’s deal out because that’s a major outlier), it’s safe to assume Cole might have gotten anywhere from $3 million to $5 million on the market. Anything more than that, especially for an undersized point guard with a career 32.6 three-point shooting percentage, would’ve been a desperate move by a team in serious need of backcourt help.

    According to Basketball Insiders, the Pelicans currently have a guaranteed $79.7 million on the books for the 2015-16 season. The following season, when the NBA’s salary cap leaps to about $89 million, New Orleans will be paying out a guaranteed $63.9 million. Keeping max-level space open should be a priority, but the Pelicans could have offered Cole more if they had wanted to.

    However, why tie up future cap space for a player who’s not necessary to the Pelicans’ ongoing ascension in the West? Outside of Anthony Davis, no one on this roster should be off limits as New Orleans tries to put a championship caliber-team around him. Cole is about to turn 27 and though he’ll be a useful transitionary piece, he’s not intrinsic to what the Pelicans are aiming for long-term.

    To that end, tying up future cap space — no matter how small — with a multiyear contract was unnecessary. A 28-game sample size (32 if you include the postseason) is far too small to determine his true fit on this team, so giving Cole a year to prove himself before making a more long-term, binding decision feels like the most prudent approach at this point.

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