Zach Lowe: Pels one of the Winners of Free Agency/Offseason

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WINNER: New Orleans Pelicans

After a spasm of deals gone bad, sometimes you just have to chill outside the frenzy, restock the draft pick cupboard, and recalibrate with fringe signings that fit around a centerpiece superstar. They executed quickie no-fault divorces with Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson, two no-defense sunk costs racing for the exits. Their expert shooting fit well around Unibrow's rim runs, but injuries eroded the rest of Gordon's game, and Anderson gave everything back as an unhideable front-line sieve on defense.

E'Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway and Solomon Hill are backups on a good team, and as the Pelicans cleanse away three years worth of moves, they will have time to build that team. They also got all three at backup prices in the new money landscape, even if at least one will open the season as a starter. Both Moore and Galloway bring more two-way value than several perimeter guys who received similar money, including Wayne Ellington, Jerryd Bayless and Austin Rivers. (It remains unclear why the Sixers, still mostly sitting out free agency after making noise about taking the next step, chased Bayless over a number of other options.)

All three can do enough off the bounce to attack scrambling defenders when the ball swings to them.

If Hill improves his jumper -- he hit 44 percent on corner 3-pointers last season -- he could emerge as a spot-up option capable of defending three positions and unlocking interesting small groups around Davis. New York fans thirsting for positives probably overrated Galloway; he's a league-average 3-point shooter who has been awful inside the arc, and at 6foot-2, he's at a size disadvantage defending wings. His 6-8 wingspan helps, and Galloway is fearless in big moments. He's worth a shot at this price, especially since the limited version of Bird rights the Pellies will have on Galloway might be enough to keep him if he hits free agency again next summer.

Buddy Hield fills a plug-and-play need, and re-signing Tim Frazier on the cheap was a no-brainer after his strong finish last season.

Zoom out, and this is still a muddled roster with $40 million invested in a sweaty, slippery-handed question mark at center in Omer Asik. They have less than a year to decide if Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, starry names once heralded as long-term cornerstones, really mesh with the long-term vision -- or want to be in New Orleans. If they don't, well, that requires another remodeling job.

If the Pelicans had to make their case today to keep Anthony Davis through his early 30s, they would probably lose him. This summer marked the starting point in making a better case later.

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