The New Orleans Pelicans are already struggling with injuries. With no Tyreke Evans or Jrue Holiday (due to injury and personal reasons, respectively), the team also lost Lance Stephenson to a groin injury recently.
It seems as though the Pelicans were unable to get a hardship exception from the NBA and thus, they are waiving Stephenson (and his only $100K guaranteed contract) in order to make room for signing Archie Goodwin.
However, that does not mean that they are fully moving on from Stephenson, whom they signed late in free agency this offseason. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Pelicans are monitoring Stephenson’s progress and could sign him again in the future:
The Pelicans, sources say, will participate fully in Lance Stephenson's injury rehab and told him they're open to re-signing him once healed
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) November 7, 2016
This is smart by the Pelicans. Lance gives the Pelicans a playmaker that they don’t always have on the perimeter. With a less than stellar bench as well as two guards (Holiday and Evans) who are oft-injured, Stephenson can be incredibly valuable. Case in point: in his six games this season, Lance Stephenson averaged 9.7 points and 4.8 assists in 27 minutes of playing time.
It would behoove the Pelicans to keep an eye on Stephenson. If healthy, he can provide a spark off the bench or serve as a temporary starter for a team that needs both.
