Top 3 assets New Orleans Pelicans can use to bolster their squad in the 2021 NBA offseason
The 2021-22 campaign will be a key one for the New Orleans Pelicans franchise. At the helm is new coach Willie Green, who will hope to lead his former team back to the playoffs, while simultaneously keeping superstar Zion Williamson happy.
Williamson was the Pelicans' No.1 overall pick in 2019 but has yet to show off to the NBA world what he can do in the postseason. After a dismal year in which the franchise finished 11th in the West and struggled defensively, there will need to be some considerable changes this summer to help them compete in the stacked conference.
In this article, we will outline three assets the New Orleans Pelicans can offload in order to bolster their roster around the power forward.
3 Assets the New Orleans Pelicans could move in the NBA offseason
Zion Williamson is a generational talent and the New Orleans Pelicans will be terrified of the repercussions that could come from another disappointing season. There have already been murmurs from the 21-year-old's camp that certain family members are unhappy with the situation for Williamson at the ball club.
He is the kind of player that any team in the NBA would want and if it became clear that he wanted out, there would be an all-out bidding war. But before that happens, the New Orleans Pelicans have a chance to make things right.
They have a bunch of draft picks to offer teams and a few other assets that could help them land the kind of unselfish veteran star that would help them win a championship.
#3 Steven Adams
While Steven Adams is certainly still a serviceable center, his fit with the New Orleans Pelicans this year and Zion Williamson was awkward. He averaged the lowest number of points per 36 minutes since his sophomore season and the fewest blocks of his career.
On top of that, he shot at his worst rate from the free-throw line, connecting with just 44% of attempts.
Adams is still only 28 and should be coming into the peak years of his NBA life, but the Pelicans may choose to go another way this summer and move him back out.
They need powerful, athletic bigs who can shoot the rock to play alongside Williamson and could look to go to a small-ball line-up while simultaneously focusing on Jaxson Hayes' development.
Moving on from Adams would also go a long way in helping the New Orleans Pelicans clear up some salary space.