At just 48 percent of regular season minutes logged by returning players, New Orleans experienced the sixth-most roster turnover in the NBA last season, with only Brooklyn, New York, Chicago, Milwaukee and Sacramento giving less floor time to returnees from 2015-16 (on the opposite end of the spectrum at 85 percent, Portland was No. 1 in that stat, per Basketball-Reference.com). The offseason will partly determine where the Pelicans rank in that statistic in ’17-18, but they’ll enter the July 1 opening of free agency with fewer key unrestricted free agents than many clubs.
One such free agent will be combo forward Dante Cunningham, who declined a player option for next season, giving him the ability to sign with any NBA team.