New Orleans Pelicans Not as Frugal With Salary Cap as Some May Think

The New Orleans Pelicans are regarded as a team that doesn't spend, but that is not necessarily the case.

Apr 1, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, in white, looks on during warms ups before the game against the LA Clippers at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

As recently as 2021, the New Orleans Pelicans were the smallest market team in the NBA. That provides some complications when it comes to competing with bigger markets that seemingly have an endless supply of money to dip into.

Pelicans fans have seen how that plays out time and time again. 

Any time they have a homegrown star, that player pushes to leave, seeking greener, more lucrative pastures. Chris Paul did it first and Anthony Davis did it years later, both landing in Los Angeles; Paul with the LA Clippers and Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers.

New Orleans, throughout its existence, has been regarded as a frugal team when it comes to the salary cap. In some regards, that is accurate.

Since the implementation of the luxury tax, the Pelicans are one of two franchises to never pay the luxury tax; the other is the Charlotte Hornets.

It is easy to see why, as neither team has ever built a sustainable winner. Some of that is on ownership not being willing to spend, but if the product isn’t producing, why dump more money into it?

In this day and age, market size isn’t as important of a factor for players. Social media can make anyone famous, which certainly helps smaller markets such as New Orleans retain players.

But, the idea that the Pelicans don’t spend money is a fallacy. As shared by Christian Clark of NOLA.com during a recent mailbag, the team may not be among the biggest spenders, but they are rarely among the lowest spending, too.

“Tom Benson bought New Orleans’ NBA franchise in 2012. Here is where the team has ranked in spending on payroll in each of the past 12 years, according to Spotrac (1 = highest; 30 = lowest): 19, 16, 16, 11, 13, 8, 20, 23, 9, 16, 19, 9,” wrote Clark.

That comes out to an average of 14.9; smack dead in the middle of the NBA. Heading into the 2024-25 season, New Orleans is 13th with total salaries and cap holds being just under $187 million.

They are ahead of contenders such as the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Clippers, who are 15th, 16th and 18th, respectively, per Spotrac.

Expect the Pelicans to drop a little further down that list, as they are $3.8 million above the luxury tax and will look to make a move to duck it, just as they did last season when they traded Kira Lewis Jr.

That is unless the product on the court improves to the point that ownership feels they have a contending team. If that happens, the 2024-25 campaign could be a historic one for the franchise in more ways than one.