New Orleans Pelicans: Ish Smith To The Rescue?

Basketball is not only a game filled with spectacularly athletic specimens coalescing towards one common goal, it is also a game of attrition. We like to think that the best team wins each and every night when really, it is usually just the team that has endured the marathon season with the most health. (Just ask Oklahoma City Thunder fans.)

The New Orleans Pelicans have routinely been on the wrong side of the “perfect health card,” and this preseason has proven no different. Jrue Holiday is on a minutes restriction and may not play in back-to-backs. Omer Asik, Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole and Alexis Ajinca have all been hampered with injuries that will in all likelihood keep them out of early season action.

For a roster that wasn’t the epitome of depth, enduring a handful of injuries is a tough ask — despite even the foreseeable stat lines that will make you shake your head from Anthony Davis and (seemingly) strong improvements to the coaching staff.

The absence of Cole and Evans are especially troubling as the Pelicans lack the kind of secondary playmaking necessary to excel in a high-paced system. The early returns of Nate Robinson haven’t been God awful. I am actually a fan of Nate’s and want him to succeed. Yet the role in which they are going to need him to play doesn’t fit his skill set.

Robinson has always been a heat check guy, capable of stringing together unique scoring bursts that can either get a team back into a game or stretch out a lead to new heights. He has never been a high percentage assist player capable of making plays for others. Instead he would rather chuck up jumpers. The problem is, the Pelicans are in desperate need of some playmakers to make life easier on this injury-riddled roster.

Insert the recently waived Ish Smith (perhaps).

Smith is a dart of lightning with a broken jumper (career 26 percent three-point shooter) that routinely slices through the teeth of a defense into the lane for funky floaters and easy dump-offs to big men. He is feisty on defense because of his athleticism and averaged more than a steal per game while playing 25 games with Philly last season.

Considering the rest of the options on waivers or the open market, Smith would be a tremendous get for the Pelicans. He is a serviceable fill-in that would relish in a fast-paced system with a pick-and-pop/roll partner of Davis’ caliber.

However, speculation is out there that Smith may not make it to New Orleans because Sam Hinkie and the Sixers brass are going to put a waiver claim on Smith (only in effort to demand second round picks, I assume). This is the kind of BS that Hinkie has built his foundation on during his tenure as GM: holding other teams hostage in order to wring out any asset he can.

It doesn’t matter that Smith wants to be in New Orleans, or has even traveled with the team to Golden State, the Sixers’ schtick parallels perfectly to make a move such as this. I will put nothing past Hinkie at this point.

If Smith does indeed join the team by Monday’s waiver deadline, he will be expected to join the active roster immediately and play in Tuesday’s game against the defending champs. No other roster moves will have to be made after the recent waiving of Bryce Dejean-Jones, Jeff Adrien and Bo McCalebb.

Dell Demps and Co. must be pretty confident that Smith is going to fall into their laps. Let’s hope that the other 29 teams refrain from the opportunity to spoil those plans.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Opening Week

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