LAS VEGAS – New Orleans has received rampant praise for the massive haul it received in a June trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, but in hindsight the deal carried at least one downside: It forced three Pelicans players from the recent draft to sit out a pair of summer league games.
Since being officially cleared to play this week, Jaxson Hayes (No. 8 overall pick), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (17) and Didi Louzada (35) have shown what New Orleans and its fans were missing earlier in the event, making an enormous impact in consecutive dominant wins over Chicago and Cleveland.