Welcome back, Jack: Pelicans give veteran point guard another look

Several reports have surfaced indicating the New Orleans Pelicans have come to terms with free agent guard Jarrett Jack. Shams Charania, of The Athletic, says the deal is for one year and is non-guaranteed.

With the Pels’ backcourt getting a serious infusion of youth this offseason, it had been speculated all summer that the team would add a veteran presence to the group.

Jack, a veteran heading into his 13th season is on the downside of his career, and hasn’t played more than 62 games in a season since appearing in 80 contests for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2014-15 season.

His last stint in New Orleans, two seasons ago, ended after two games due to injury.

But, I don’t imagine durability was why Jack was brought back for his third stint in the Crescent City.

His 7.5 points and 5.6 points last year with the Knicks were pretty good, but Jack’s shooting last season? Not so much.

His three-point percentage (29.1) was lower than those of Lonzo Ball, Marcus Smart and Russell Westbrook, and far below his career mark of 34.3 percent.

So, Jack wasn’t brought in for his scoring either.

What does stand out about Jack’s play last season was the fact that the Knicks were a better offensive team with him on the floor than they were with him on the bench.

The Knicks’ offensive rating dropped nearly five points without Jack in the game. They shot the ball worse, rebounded less, and turned it over more.

According to NBA.com, Jack was a member of three of New York’s five most effective five-man lineups, four of their top five four-man lineups, and three of their five best three-man lineups.

If Jack can provide that level of productivity, it would be another offseason victory for the Pelicans. Dell Demps has done an excellent job of finding low-risk (relatively speaking), potentially high reward players this summer.

Jack also adds another strong voice to the locker room, something the Pelicans lost with the mid season departure of Tony Allen and the offseason defection of Rajon Rondo.

He’s seen and done it all in the league. The Pelicans, who have now added 10 new players to the roster this since they were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals (that’s including Frank Jackson, who missed all of last year), could use someone who can help those players become a team.

So, welcome back Jack. Let’s see what you’ve got.