Lance Thomas is expected back with the Pelicans next season because his team contract option is worth under $1 million.

Thomas needs to improve his shooting touch, especially from outside the painted area, but it's a very small amount of money for a guy who has proven his worth under Monty Williams. Although Thomas didn't play a ton this season, we'd expect him to remain in New Orleans.

Lance Thomas started at small forward instead of Al-Farouq Aminu on Monday, but missed all three of his shot attempts to finish with zero points, four rebounds, and one assist in 14 minutes.

Thomas entered the game with at least one beat writer predicting he would be the starter, but Aminu won tonight's positional skirmish with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, eight boards, one steal, and two blocks. To complicate matters, Monty Williams singled out second round pick Darius Miller (six points, one block, 15 minutes) for his solid play. Thomas is worth keeping an eye on, but not close to being draftworthy in standard format.

Lance Thomas played 26 minutes in Friday's exhibition game against the Rockets, scoring five points on 2-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds and one block.

Anthony Davis (groin, rest) was out tonight and that opened up a few minutes, but regardless Thomas is going to get a real hard look out of Monty Williams this season. The surprise USA Select Team member will back up both forward positions and is worth keeping tabs on to see if he can gain any traction during the preseason.