The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the biggest questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
2023-24 end
Offseason moves
Additions: Dejounte Murray, Javonte Green, Daniel Theis, Yves Missi, Antonio Reeves, Karlo Matkovic
Subtractions: Jonas Valančiūnas, Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, Naji Marshall, Cody Zeller, EJ Liddell
Complete roster
The Big Question: Does the Pelicans’ roster make sense?
Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Dejounte Murray all made All-Star teams. CJ McCollum is one of the best players of the past decade not to make an All-Star team. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III are two of the best 3-and-D wings in the game.
The Pelicans should be awesome. They will not be championship contenders as currently constituted.
Why? Well, for starters, they have no real center. They let Jonas Valančiūnas walk in a sign-and-trade deal for a top-50 protected second-round draft pick. They drafted Yves Missi, a 20-year-old project, and signed Daniel Theis, a 32-year-old journeyman. These are not options for a serious team.
Ideally, they would trade Ingram over the summer for a center. He has been available for some time and is a free agent at season’s end. Would-be suitors are wary of paying top dollar for a player who hasn’t won a playoff series in eight seasons, even though I’m higher on his ability than most. He was great in his first playoff appearance and terrible this past spring. His true value is somewhere in between.
Regardless, New Orleans has more problems than the absence of a center and the presence of a lame-duck star forward. Its rotation makes no sense. On paper, a lineup of Murray, Jones, Murphy, Ingram and Williamson could be a killer smallball five. In practice, playing their top five together for any length of time puts an unwelcome obligation on Williamson, whose injuries have slowed a potentially historic rise.
McCollum could be an electric sixth man. He has the game for immediate offense. But he pointed to reporters“I will not volunteer [for the bench]but if that’s what the coach wants to do, that’s what he wants to do.” And they’re paying him to be a starter. Except, Murphy, who’s still waiting for his rookie-scale contract extension, is better and wants to start, too. One of them will be unhappy
It’s a world where Murray and Williamson are fantastic as a pick-and-roll tandem, where Jones and Murphy split the floor for them, and where McCollum — the 33-year-old president of the NBA players’ association — relishes his role. as a reserve. What a wonderful world that would be if it only had a center.
Only there are few options available. Clint Capela is not the answer. They sure kicked the tires on Jarrett Allen. A trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers makes sense. Nicolas Claxton would be a good fit, but why would the Brooklyn Nets want to pay Ingram at the start of their rebuilding process? Look around the link. Now that Karl-Anthony Towns is in New York, the list of available (quality) centers is thin.
Theis once started for a Boston Celtics team that made the conference finals. He could turn back the clock. Or Missi could develop faster than anticipated. More than likely, if the Pelicans feel like they could cause some damage in the playoffs for the first time in their history, they’ll buy a little harder, and they have the draft capital to do it. They own all of their own first-round draft picks, plus the rights to a few more. Stand up, and we have our answer: The Pelicans don’t even consider themselves serious contenders.
Best case scenario
Williamson is a superstar. And healthy. Nothing matters if not for that. Murray is stepping out of Trae Young’s shadow and resuming the production he enjoyed on the San Antonio Spurs. Either Jones or Murphy or both border on stardom, or at least become stars in their roles. Everything falls into place. McCollum moves to the bench. Ingram brings in a rim protector, and the Pelicans are not only fighting for their first playoff series win since 2018; they are threatening to make the conference finals for the first time … ever.
If everything falls apart
Williamson has never finished a season healthy, and this one is no different. They keep Ingram, and he walks, or they trade him for nothing. McCollum stunts Murphy’s development, and team chemistry crumbles. Jones is the 34% shooter he was during the first two seasons of his career and not the 42% he was last season. Missi is a young lady. This is also. And the Pelicans are right back in the play-in tournament mix, a tier or two below the Western Conference’s elite, and they learned nothing from another season.
A fancy spin
The Pelicans are loaded with fantasy potential, but Murray’s arrival clogs up the usage of ball-dominant players like Williamson, McCollum and Ingram. Speaking of Ingram, an extension is not likely and it will be challenging for the Pelicans to trade BI’s expiring $36 million contract. Ingram going in the sixth round of drafts is a decent value to start the season as Murphy is out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.
One of the most underrated options near pick 100 is stock specialist Herb Jones, who also made strides in improving his efficiency across the board last year, shooting 50% from the field, 42% from 3 and 87% from the line. He is a valuable pick. My sleeper center, Karlo Matković, is behind Daniel Theis and Yves Missi on the depth chart. I think Matković provides the necessary athleticism, floor space and defense that New Orleans needs long term. Just remember the name even if he is not worth editing now. — And Titus
schedule 2024-25
The under is a safer bet, considering how the rotation looks to start the season and how Williamson has finished every year of his career. But I want to believe that they will find their missing piece; I want to think that Williamson will stay healthy for one of these years, because this team should be funny I’m taking over.
