The Memphis Grizzlies just handed Quinten Post a three-year, $30 million deal, and for the New Orleans Pelicans, that’s the kind of move you can be glad somebody else made.
New Orleans has spent a quiet 2026 offseason watching Joe Dumars largely stick with last season’s roster for 2026-27. That hasn’t exactly sparked much excitement, but there is at least one place where the Pelicans can take a small win: they did not jump into the same market and pay center money that doesn’t line up with the player.
Post is a useful big man, but a $10 million annual salary is a steep price for what he brings. For a Pelicans team that badly needs help in the middle, passing on that kind of commitment makes sense.
The 26-year-old just finished a season with Golden State in which he averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists across 67 games. He fits Memphis’ age timeline and could still grow into more, but that’s the key distinction here: the Grizzlies can wait. New Orleans, if it were spending that kind of money on a center, would need a more immediate return, and Post doesn’t really offer that.
There’s no question he has traits that will catch the eye. He’s a floor spacer, and at a listed 7-foot, he gives teams the look of a true stretch five.
He has a career 36.4 percent mark from three in 109 games, and he’s built a reputation as a pick-and-pop threat and a trail shooter. For Pelicans fans who have long wanted a spacing big next to Zion Williamson, that part of the profile sounds ideal.
But the rest of the package is where the fit starts to fall apart.
Post plays smaller than his size, and the Pelicans’ center search has to start with rim protection and defensive rebounding before anything else. Those are not his strengths. He’s more of a help defender in the paint than a true anchor, which helps explain why he worked in Golden State alongside Draymond Green.
Because he came off the bench so often, the raw numbers only tell part of the story. Looking at his per-36 production gives a clearer picture: 8.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.
For a team that needs real interior presence, that’s thin. It’s even thinner for New Orleans, which already has a 6-foot-6 power forward with major defensive shortcomings.
Post’s offense inside the arc isn’t much of a selling point either. According to Cleaning the Glass, he ranked in the 3rd percentile in rim scoring efficiency in 2024-25.
So while Memphis can justify paying for a 7-foot shooter who doesn’t bring much beyond spacing, New Orleans couldn’t. And even with a slow offseason hanging over the Pelicans, avoiding a rushed move like this is still a sign they’re not operating out of desperation.
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