We’re still over six weeks away from opening night in the NBA, but the New Orleans Pelicans season already stands at an important crossroads.
In less than 48 hours time, teams will no longer be able to stretch contracts and waive players for purposes of reducing salary from 2017-18 cap sheets. This August 31st deadline is of the upmost importance to the Pelicans because they are $1,473,576 away from the hard cap — a line they cannot pass for any reason until next summer, have a major hole at small forward to plug in lieu of Solomon Hill’s hamstring injury and face the real risk of losing Dante Cunningham to the Minnesota Timberwolves.