It is no secret the Pelicans have been searching for veteran leadership at the point guard position since losing Rajon Rondo to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Rondo was thought to be the incumbent starter coming off a bit of a resurgent campaign alongside Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis; however, plans quickly changed.
The New Orleans Pelicans brought in the former lottery pick, Elfrid Payton, in an attempt to maximize the fast falling guard in a similar mold as the aforementioned Rondo. General Manager Dell Demps’ designs for Payton included the fourth year veteran in a linchpin role off the bench, piloting a unit consisting of some makeup of E’Twaun Moore, Darius Miller, Nikola Mirotic and possibly Jahlil Okafor.