The Pelicans have officially brought back a familiar face, as The Spot Up Shot’s Paul Garcia reported that Christian Shumate has signed a training camp deal with New Orleans. Shumate was an undrafted rookie the Pelicans signed last offseason, spent last season with their G League affiliate and has also appeared in the last two Summer Leagues. Shumate also isn’t a new face to Louisiana, as he spent his college career playing for McNeese State.
Shumate has always had an interesting skill set as a 6-foot-6 forward who plays with a ton of hustle, is very athletic, and can be a solid connective defender. While he hasn’t broken through as a legit NBA player yet, the Pelicans' continued investment in him is encouraging. With Micah Peavy now gone, Shumate’s style of play is something the Pelicans are lacking and could help create a clearer path for him to carve out a role with this team.
Return of the Shumate!
I’m not going to act like Shumate and Peavy are crazy-similar, interchangeable players, and that’s for a couple of reasons. Mainly, there’s a reason Peavy was drafted in the early second round last summer and played 61 games for the Pelicans. There’s a reason Shumate was undrafted and started his pro career in the G League. Peavy is truly an elite defender, and Shumate isn’t. However, Shumate is definitely the better pure athlete.
But they both share the same energy and hustle in their games. Both players fight hard through screens, are willing to dive for loose balls, and crash the glass with intent.
When you look at the construction of the Pelicans roster going into next season, they have a ton of talented players. The issue is they lack players who can be effective without the ball in their hands. While the team's starting lineup will likely figure it out and find an offensive flow, the second unit could struggle. Based on my own projections, I’d say Saddiq Bey, Bennedict Mathurin, Jeremiah Fears, and Derik Queen will all be part of Jamahl Mosley’s bench unit.
All four of those players are best when the ball is in their hands, and that’s when sprinkling in someone like Shumate could be a big boost. He cuts hard off the ball, can set screens despite being an undersized forward, make plays in transition, get stops defensively, and generate second chances. Doing those things in training camp could be his way of proving to the Pelicans front office he’s worth an investment.
Obviously he needs to make strides as a floor spacer because the 33 percent he shot from three in the G League last year isn’t going to cut it. But it is still an improvement from the 30.9 percent he shot in his final college season, so if that continues to trend upward, that would be great for his chances.
Hearing that Shumate is coming back for training camp isn’t nothing. It means someone in Joe Dumars' front office likes him and sees something worth investing in. With Micah Peavy gone, the Pelicans are lacking the type of hustle-first connective wing Shumate projects to be, and if he can put together a strong camp, maybe he’ll earn a more permanent spot with this team.
