Norris Cole is a good backup guard. And he has a cool haircut. Here’s the New Orleans Times Picayune reporting on the Pelicans, who hope to keep Cole on their squad. Last season in 28 games for New Orleans, Cole averaged 9.9 points and 3.2 assists in 24.4 minutes per outing:
![]() |
The Pelicans declined last week to withdraw their qualifying offer of $3 million to Cole. The chances for New Orleans to retain Cole improves as he remains unsigned. Most of the teams in the NBA have already made their most important deals in free agency.
At this point, the Pelicans’ qualifying could end up as the most money Cole may be offered on the open market in free agency. Although the Philadelphis 76ers have been one of the teams that have expressed interest, according to sources, the Pelicans can also match any offer Cole receives.
”Of course, I would love to see Norris back,” Pelicans forward Quincy Pondexter said earlier this week. ”I know that he’s trying to figure what’s best for himself and family. Norris is such a huge part of our team, a huge part of our success last year. I don’t think we make the run without him and so to have him back and have Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson healthy, I think it’s going to be a great year for our team.”