Six years ago, when the Pelicans of New Orleans won the NBA Draft Lottery and had the opportunity to prepare Zion Williamson, the future had never looked brighter. Because Anthony Davis was traded on the Lakers, the Pelicans now had a young core to build with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Zion and two other Rookies. Banners were expected to be hung in New Orleans the next decade.
Things did not go so much, because the pelicans were consistently dealing with injuries, disappointment and setbacks. The 2024-25 season was a new low point for this organization, because they had to do with so many injuries that they finished with the second worst record in the entire competition.
But now, after one offsean under Joe Dumars, it looks just as promising as in 2019.
The biggest problem of this team last season was a lack of depth, because the Dejounde Murray trade and the departure of Jonas Valančiūnas left the team extremely thin with both guard and in the middle. During this low season, the Pelicans made it clear that their main objective was to keep the core of Zion, Trey and Herb together and to bring them in depth around them.
This plan was perfectly implemented with additions from Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, Kevon Looney and three rookies that can all play meaningful minutes if necessary.
The entire competition underestimates how much value this added depth contributes to the pelicans
The Indiana Pacers are a perfect example of how valuable depth really is in the NBA, because it has much more value to have 12 really good players than one with stars strewn from five.
Although none of the movements of the pelicans has brought an All-Star, that does not mean that these movements were bad. Jordan Poole is the perfect sixth man for this team, and they brought him from a career year in Washington for a aging veterinarian in CJ McCollum.
If they are healthy, the lead rotation of the pelicans will have the rotation of Djounde, Poole, Jose Alvarado and Jeremiah. That kind of guards plays rivals in the pacers when they are healthy for one of the best surveillance rooms in the entire NBA.
In the middle, the Pelicans have three boys who can all be starters for other teams. In my opinion, Kevon Looney was the glue that helped to keep the Warriors -Dynasty together for years. Yves Missi comes from an incredible Rookie year, and Derik Queen has amazing potential and brings a playing style that the pelicans have never had next to Zion.
In addition to these guys, the pelicans still have Jordan Hawkins, Karlo Matkovic, Saddiq Bey and Micah Peavy who want to offer a spark of the bank.
New Orleans now finally completed a well -completed enough selection where if someone gets injured and needs a few nights free, they can really trust someone else to act.
The way Joe Dumars could keep this core together while he became younger and deeper, brings the pelicans into a position where they are willing to take on all the challenges they are thrown at them this season. So while the rest of the NBA continues to doubt this team, it might be time to start believing.
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