New Orleans Pelicans 2021-22 NBA season preview: Roster moves, starting lineup projection, and training camp storylines to follow
Zion Williamson's rumored discontent with the New Orleans Pelicans ensured this offseason would be a tentative one for the franchise. Stan Van Gundy has since been relieved of his coaching duties and replaced by the highly-rated Willie Green.
The New Orleans Pelicans narrowly missed out on last year's playoffs despite a solid season from their two stars in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Finishing 11th in their conference, the Pelicans failed to take advantage of a shortened season and a potential play-in tournament spot. Instead, their defensive inconsistencies and failure to maximize their scoring potential saw them languish in the doldrums for yet another year.
David Griffin and the New Orleans Pelicans front office team have been active during the offseason as they try to provide Williamson with a more versatile roster to accentuate his generational talent.
New Orleans Pelicans' roster moves so far in the 2021-22 NBA season
Guards galore! Both incoming and outgoing, the New Orleans Pelicans have been incredibly active in restructuring their guard rotation. The most notable change for the upcoming season is Lonzo Ball's absence, as the playmaker opted to join the Chicago Bulls during free agency.
In Ball's place is Devonte' Graham, who joined the New Orleans Pelicans via a sign-and-trade that saw the Charlotte Hornets receive a first-round pick. Tomas Satoransky joined the team as part of the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade which also saw Garrett Temple join the roster.
Eric Bledsoe was another New Orleans Pelicans guard to make way as he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies along with Steven Adams for Jonas Valanciunas.
BREAKING: Memphis is finalizing a trade to send Jonas Valanciunas and 2021 Nos. 17 and 51 picks to New Orleans for Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, 2021 picks Nos. 10 and 40 and a protected 2022 first-round pick via the Lakers, sources tell ESPN.
On the wing, Temple joined the roster as previously mentioned, and the New Orleans Pelicans drafted both Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones with the 17th and 35th picks respectively. Daulton Hommes also joined the Pelicans on a two-way contract.
Zero transactions occurred that affected the Pelicans' forward rotation, and Willy Hernangomez joined Jonas Valaciunas as the team's new center rotation. It's obvious that the New Orleans Pelicans wanted additional spacing from the five, and knew that Steven Adams' fit with Zion Williamson could be improved upon using the trade market.
Important storylines for New Orleans Pelicans' training camp
1. Can Kira Lewis Jr. earn himself a bigger role within the rotation?
Both Bledsoe and Ball have left town, providing Kira Lewis Jr. with an opportunity to cement himself as the New Orleans Pelicans' backup point guard. Lewis Jr. has the speed of a prime John Wall, excellent decision-making and a pull-up jumper that could be dangerous once it's developed. He'll be aiming to cement a larger role within the rotation before attempting to hunt down Graham's starting role.
With numerous combo guards on the rotation, though, Lewis Jr. won't have it easy. The sophomore will need to work his socks off during training camp and ensure he's providing impactful minutes off the bench on a nightly basis. Otherwise, someone like Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be usurping the speedster by the end of the season.
2. Does Willie Green continue developing Zion Williamson as a point forward?
Zion Williamson found himself operating as a de facto point forward for the New Orleans Pelicans last season, as then-head coach Stan Van Gundy looked to utilize his strength when getting downhill.
Power Point, Point Forward....no matter which way you want to put it, Zion is putting up numbers 🔥
@ImErinHartigan @SrDavidWesley4 and @adaniels33 discuss the dominance of Zion Williamson.
@PelicansNBA | @Zionwilliamson | #WontBowDown https://t.co/a7GSydsqWv
There's no denying it, Williamson is a force of nature, and no one can contain him once he builds momentum. But can't you achieve the same result with Zion operating as a cutter or curling off step-up or pin-down screens? Whether or not new head coach Willie Green continues to develop Williamson in this manner will be an interesting storyline.
And if Green decides to change course in the New Orleans Pelicans' star player's development, it will be interesting to see how Zion and his camp react.
3. Who starts at shooting guard?
The New Orleans Pelicans have Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Garrett Temple and Josh Hart - four players who are all capable of providing valuable minutes at shooting guard. Some of these players can play up a position at small forward, others can slide down to point guard, but they're all good enough to command rotational minutes.
Figuring out who is going to start, who'll be the primary backup and who'll be the emergency cover is going to be a tough job. Expect some fireworks during training camp. Each member of the shooting guard battle brings a different aspect to the court, and it will be the coaching staff's job to figure out whose skills fit with what unit.
Predicted starting lineup for the New Orleans Pelicans heading into 2021-22 NBA season
Willie Green will likely use the opening months of the season as a data-gathering exercise, swapping out players to see how the rotation fairs. When you're trying to build a contender around two budding stars, you've got to be judicial in your decision making.
Here's the predicted starting lineup for the New Orleans Pelicans:
Point Guard - Devonte' Graham | Shooting Guard - Josh Hart | Small Forward - Brandon Ingram | Power Forward - Zion Williamson | Center - Jonas Valanciunas