Charlotte Hornets: New Orleans Pelicans players to target in free agency

As a part of our ongoing series detailing which players the Charlotte Hornets should target during free agency, our attention shifts to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pels finished with a 36-46 record, which earned them a 9th-place finish in the Western Conference. Following a pair of wins in the play-in tournament, the Pelicans fell in six games to the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.

In a season that saw Zion Williamson not play a game and CJ McCollum come to town, the 2021-22 season should be considered a win for the Pels. With a healthy Williamson, McCollum, Brandon Ingram, and Jonas Valanciunas core to build around, New Orleans could be a threat in 2022-23.

Strangely, none of those aforementioned players are up for new contracts in 2022 free agency. The Pels’ lone restricted free agent is Jared Harper. Their only unrestricted free agents are Gary Clark and Tony Snell.

With a lack of big-name free agents on New Orleans’ roster, Charlotte is likely to skip over the Pels in the offseason. Although Snell is a consistent shooter who has not missed a free throw since the 2018-19 season (51-51 over the last three seasons), there are plenty of holes in his game that have kept him from making the nightly rotation on a regular basis.

If the Hornets want to acquire any of the Pelicans’ big-name players, it will have to be next season. Whether through trade or free agent signing, there are plenty of intriguing pieces on New Orleans’ roster, but none of them are available this offseason unfortunately.