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Tim Frazier distributing skills could become vital for Pelicans in 2016-17

Pass-first point guards are gradually becoming a dying breed in the NBA. Floor generals from a previous era such as John Stockton, Mark Jackson and Mo Cheeks now seem like dinosaurs, replaced by a prototype more likely to erupt for 30 points than hand out 15 assists (see Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Russell Westbrook, among others).

With that said, New Orleans point guard Tim Frazier is a throwback, a player who’d still rather dish and facilitate for his teammates than look for his own shot. While receiving a long-awaited chance to play extended NBA minutes in March and April, the Penn State product proved to be an exceptionally effective distributor, averaging 7.5 assists in only 29.3 minutes. He capped the final week of 2015-16 with separate 12-, 11- and 15-assist games – even more impressive given how many of the Pelicans’ proven NBA scorers were sidelined by injuries.

“I’ve always been pass-first growing up, and sometimes that’s gotten me in trouble, because sometimes I’ll pass up a wide-open shot to pass to other people,” the 6-foot-1, 170-pounder said on the Black and Blue Report last week. “But I’ve always been – from what I’ve heard – a guy other people like to play with. Because guys know I’ll pass the ball. That’s just my craft. Everyone has something that they’re great at and they stick to it. I want to make passing what I’m great at.”

Although his late-season stint with the Pelicans consisted of just 16 games, Frazier’s average of 9.2 assists per 36 minutes would’ve ranked him sixth in the NBA if it were maintained over the course of the season (only Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Westbrook, Ricky Rubio and John Wall had a higher per-minute assist rate). Over the span of a month, the 25-year-old said he learned a lot about himself at the NBA level. Prior to his New Orleans tenure, he had never received steady playing time from game to game.

“Obviously I’ve got a long way to go and I think about mistakes I made,” Frazier said of what he gleaned from being on the floor every night. “From a good standpoint, it was like, I can compete and I can play in this league. My first couple years had been kind of spot playing here and there. This was the first time I got steady minutes. Obviously we didn’t get as many wins as I wanted, but individually it was kind of successful as far as getting guys open and getting it to them where they needed the ball.”

Among qualified players in 2015-16, New Orleans teammate Jrue Holiday finished tied for ninth in assists per minute with Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder, but Holiday is expected to miss the early portion of 2016-17. As a result of that absence, the early-season workload for some of the Pelicans’ other guards will increase. Frazier has been leaning on Holiday as a veteran sounding board since his March arrival and said he’ll continue to do so via text and phone calls.

“I told him, I’ll hold down the fort for you as long as I need to,” Frazier said of a recent message he delivered to Holiday. “My role might change. I might have to do a little bit more, but whatever’s possible for us to win, I’m going to try to do it.”