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New Orleans Pelicans Player Was Paid $1.9 Million By The Houston Rockets This Season

© Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was paid by the Houston Rockets this season.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is in his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The former Villanova star averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.4% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point range in 39 regular season games.

Over the offseason, Robinson-Earl was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets (who then waived him).

Since he still had money on his contract, he was paid $1.9 million by the Rockets this season (h/t Spotrac and Sam Yip of HoopsHype).

OFFICIAL: The Rockets today announced they have converted guard/forward Nate Williams to a two-way contract.

The Rockets have waived forward Darius Days and forward/center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Pic.Twitter.Com/Ge6KRnOvU3

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 23, 2023

Robinson-Earl was initially the 32nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and has played three seasons in the league (two for Oklahoma City and one for New Orleans).

His career averages are 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest while shooting 43.3% from the field and 34.3% from the three-point range in 131 regular season games.

Mar 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The Pelicans are the eighth seed in the Western Conference and had a 49-33 record.

They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in their first play-in tournament but beat the Sacramento Kings in the second.

Currently, the Pelicans are down 2-0 in their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder after losing both games on the road.

Game 3 of the series will be on Saturday afternoon in New Orleans.

Feb 23, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50)

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Robinson-Earl has played in one playoff game.

He had two points, one rebound and one assist while shooting 1/2 from the field in five minutes of playing time.

At home, the Pelicans have gone 22-20 in 42 games in New Orleans.

Pelicans And Thunder Hit The Reset Button At The Same Time. So Why Has OKC Zoomed Ahead?

Within a one-month span in the summer of 2019, Anthony Davis, Paul George and Russell Westbrook got traded.

The New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder both sent out All-Star players who were ready for change in their careers.

The return the Pelicans and Thunder got back looked strong on paper. The Pelicans received three players (Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball) and three first-round picks from the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis. The Thunder received from the Los Angeles Clippers one intriguing young player (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), one veteran (Danilo Gallinari) and a whopping five first-round picks for George. Then, when the Thunder moved Westbrook to the Houston Rockets, its compensation was Chris Paul and two more first-round picks.

The Pelicans and Thunder were in similar positions five years ago. Both teams needed reboots after runs with All-NBA talent petered out. Even though the Pelicans won the draft lottery in 2019 — putting them in position to draft Zion Williamson — the Thunder has zoomed ahead of them. 

How did it happen? The Thunder has better top-end roster talent than the Pelicans; the Thunder developed and promoted one of the NBA's best coaches; and, as Pelicans executive David Griffin argued, Oklahoma City has paradoxically become so good because it spent two years trying not to win. 

"The thing I think OKC did incredibly well from a fit perspective is those kids and young men got to develop in an environment where winning didn't matter for a couple years," Griffin said. "Our team was consistently trying to win. The development curve looked different. The trend line looked different."

Different expectations

Williamson had one of the best college seasons of anyone ever in 2018-19 at Duke. From the moment he stepped foot into the NBA, he was one of the league's most efficient high-volume scorers. He averaged 22.5 points per game on 58.3% shooting as a rookie and followed that up by averaging 27.0 points on 61.1% shooting in his second season.

Williamson was so good as a teenager, the Pelicans tried to be competitive immediately. The Pelicans signed JJ Redick and Derrick Favors to free agent deals before Williamson's rookie season, then hired a then-61-year-old Stan Van Gundy as their coach before Williamson's second season. 

The Thunder slow-played things.

Gilgeous-Alexander was the 11th pick in the 2018 draft. He had a nice rookie season with the Clippers, averaging 10.8 ppg, but it was not good enough for him to finish top five in Rookie of the Year voting. The Canadian guard got incrementally better in his first three years with Oklahoma City, and in the last two seasons, he has exploded. Gilgeous-Alexander will finish top three in MVP voting this season. He averaged 30.1 ppg, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists while leading the NBA in steals.

Gilgeous-Alexander had to endure 22- and 24-win seasons before the Thunder started winning. Those two miserable years put the Thunder in a position to place elite talent next to Gilgeous-Alexander.

Chet Holmgren — a rim-protecting, 3-point shooting center — was the No. 2 pick in 2022. Holmgren and Jalen Williams — the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft — both outplayed Ingram in the Thunder's first-round sweep of the Pelicans.

It was unfortunate Williamson could not participate in the series because of a right hamstring injury. It is impossible to know how much his presence could have tilted the outcome.

While Williamson had a strong regular season, the evidence from October through March was clear in showing that Gilgeous-Alexander is ahead of him as a player. The playoffs also made it obvious the Thunder's second- and third-best players are superior to the to what the Pelicans can boast.

Coaching

Needing to replace Billy Donovan in 2020, the Thunder looked internally and promoted assistant coach Mark Daigneault to the lead job. Daigneault, only 35 years old at the time, had spent five years coaching Oklahoma City's G League team before he got his break.

In the last three seasons, the Thunder has gone from 24 to 40 to 57 regular-season wins. Oklahoma City finished first in the Western Conference even though the average age of its roster was 23.9 years old. Last month, Daigneault was voted Coach of the Year by his peers and the media.

The Pelicans' path to identifying the right coach has been bumpier. The organization hired Griffin to be then-coach Alvin Gentry's boss in 2019, which went poorly. Griffin and Gentry began bumping heads within months of working with each other. The Pelicans replaced Gentry with Van Gundy in 2020. The old-school Van Gundy's approach was not well received by the Pelicans' young roster. Van Gundy lasted eight months.

In July 2021, Willie Green took over. The Pelicans have improved their win total every year he has been in charge. Their 49 regular-season wins were tied for the second-most in franchise history.

Green has gotten the Pelicans to defend at a high level. They have finished sixth in points allowed per 100 possessions in each of the last two seasons.

Their offense has, at times, been underwhelming. The Pelicans finished 20th in offensive efficiency two years ago. They jumped to 11th this season, but without Williamson in the playoffs, they looked hopeless. The 93.5 points per 100 possessions they scored in their series against the Thunder was the worst offensive rating from a playoff team in eight years.

The Pelicans at least enjoyed regular-season success. In 2024-25, they are hoping to experience some of the playoff success the Thunder is having now. 

Are Rockets A Trade Destination For Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell?

Houston — Donovan Mitchell could be the biggest star set to join a new team this offseason. He is eligible for a contract extension this summer. But if the All-Star guard refuses to sign with the team long-term, the Cleveland Cavaliers may be forced to trade Mitchell. 

Bleacher Report recently listed one player from each franchise who could be on the move. Mitchell made the list to represent the Cavaliers. They listed several teams who could trade for his services, including the Houston Rockets.

"The Cavs can't afford to lose Mitchell for nothing and could still get a fair amount back for him to restock the roster around Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

"Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets and others should be hungry to add an All-Star guard to their roster. All have picks and players they can offer as well. — Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report.

Mitchell joined the Cavaliers in September 2022. The trade ended his five-year career with the Utah Jazz, who drafted him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. 

Mitchell has since become a five-time All-Star, averaging a career 26.6 points. The Cavaliers failed to close out the Orlando Magic during a Game 6 loss Friday night. Despite a franchise-best 50 points by Mitchell, the Cavaliers sustained a 103-96 defeat to Orlando. Game 7 is set for Sunday afternoon inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

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