Pelicans Season Preview: Talent Overflowing, But Lack Of Center And Brandon Ingram Ordeal Loom Large

October 10, 2024

Pelicans Preview

A look at the New Orleans Pelicans entering the 2024-25 season …

New Faces: Dejounte Murray, Javonte Green, Daniel Theis, Yves Missi, Antonio Reeves, Karlo Matkovic
Key Losses: Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, Naji Marshall, Cody Zeller, E.J. Liddell

Overview

The Pelicans have all the talent in the world, yet here we are again, wondering if they’ll ever put it together. Zion Williamson, when healthy, is a force of nature. Brandon Ingram has shown flashes of brilliance.

Dejounte Murray brings elite defense and playmaking. Then there’s CJ McCollum, one of the best scorers to never make an All-Star team. Add in rising 3-and-D wings like Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III, and you’ve got a roster that should be much better than it is.

But potential doesn’t equal results, and the Pelicans have real problems. Start with the fact that they have no legitimate center.

Letting Jonas Valanciunas walk for a protected second-round pick might go down as a front office blunder. Yves Missi is a 20-year-old project, and Daniel Theis is a journeyman. Neither is what you need if you’re serious about making a deep playoff run.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Ingram situation looms large. He’s a free agent at the end of the year, and while he has star potential, he’s never led a team past the first round. The Pelicans had a chance to move him for a center, but now they’re stuck with a lame-duck forward who, despite his talent, might not be part of the future.

Even if they keep him, paying top dollar for a guy who hasn’t proven he can win in the postseason is a tough sell.

Then there’s the rotation. On paper, a lineup of Murray, Jones, Murphy, Ingram, and Williamson should be a nightmare for opponents. In practice, it’s a recipe for disaster on defense and puts way too much pressure on Zion, who has never made it through a season healthy.

McCollum would be a perfect sixth man — the kind of guy who can come in and drop 20 points off the bench — but he’s not eager to accept that role. Meanwhile, Murphy is waiting in the wings, better and younger, but still unsigned to an extension. One of them is going to be unhappy.

The Pelicans’ best-case scenario is a lot of “ifs.” If Zion stays healthy, if Murray thrives as the focal point, if Jones and Murphy keep developing, and if McCollum embraces a bench role, they could be dangerous.

Maybe they finally flip Ingram for a real center, someone like Jarrett Allen, and things start to click. That’s their path to contention. But the reality is, those “ifs” are a lot to ask for.

More likely, Zion gets hurt again, Ingram walks for nothing, and McCollum stunts Murphy’s growth. Theis and Missi aren’t the answers at center, and they’re right back in the play-in tournament.

At that point, you have to wonder: are the Pelicans even trying to contend, or are they just waiting for another rebuild?

Best-case, they’re a threat to reach the conference finals for the first time in franchise history. Worst case, they learn nothing, and we’re having this same conversation again next year.