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New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis needs another reliable 16-to-18 point scorer in the starting lineup next to him. Tyreke Evans is beginning to look injury-prone, Omer Asik is limited in every facet of offense and the Pelicans don’t have a legitimate small forward on their roster to be an offensive threat. The only hope Davis has is Eric Gordon.
At the end of last season, Gordon opted in and exercised the player option on his contract. The amount of money he is earning is almost star quality, but he hasn’t shown he can be a star for the Pelicans. With the Los Angeles Clippers, he was approaching stardom. Unfortunately, the Pelicans haven’t had that Gordon on their team in his five years in New Orleans.
Gordon returned to the starting lineup against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing 16 games and scored 31 points (including four made three-pointers), but the Pelicans still lost by two points. Without Davis, the Pelicans couldn’t make enough key baskets to win against an average-at-best team.
The Pelicans are 23-35 right now. Since Gordon will be a free agent at the end of the season, he has 24 games to audition for the team. If he plays like someone capable of averaging 20 points per game, he will likely receive the type of money he will be asking for.
If he scores a lot of points but the Pelicans can’t beat teams that aren’t playoff level, Gordon’s stock will go down because he can’t lift the team up when needed. If he doesn’t perform at all and averages 10-12 points per game for the rest of the season, he will probably not even come back to the team unless he takes a discount.
Gordon does have potential. Next season, he should improve his ability to create great shots on his own and improve his playmaking ability. But this season Gordon should show the Pelicans that he is the type of shooter and scorer they can pair with Davis and have faith that the big man won’t be the only one producing every night.
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