The NBA regular season begins in about two months for the The New Orleans PelicansAnd the team has reason to be optimistic. New Orleans reached the playoffs last season for the second time in three years, winning a risky play-in game against the Sacramento Kings without star forward Zion Williamson.
New Orleans made one of the biggest trades of this offseason the acquisition of two-way goaltender Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Larry Nance, Jr., Dyson Daniels, Cody Zeller, EJ Liddell and two future first-round picks.
The Pelicans don’t want to play their season every year in the play-in tournament. New Orleans has participated for three straight years in this new format that sees the 7th through 10th seeds from each conference battle for the last two remaining playoff spots.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes predicted the fate of every team in the play-in tournament this season and predicted whether they will make it to the big dance this year. Hughes predicts another playoff spot for the Pelicans.
“The addition of Dejounte Murray is a good thing, but nothing should inspire more optimism for the New Orleans Pelicans’ upcoming season than Zion Williamson a) looking lean and mean, and b) that lean and mean version of Zion talking about winning a championship. New Orleans improved by bringing in Murray and can improve through organic growth or a future trade. With last year’s 49 wins as a baseline, the Pels seem more likely to finish fourth in the conference than miss the playoffs.”
There are areas of concern for the Pelicans heading into next year. New Orleans doesn’t have a true starting-caliber center on its roster. The team lost all of its frontcourt depth after the departures of Jonas Valanciunas, Cody Zeller and Larry Nance, Jr. this summer. The Pelicans drafted a talented but raw big man Yves Missi with their first-round selection in this year’s NBA draft. They also signed veteran center Daniel Theis to a one-year contract.
Aside from the shift to a more small-ball approach, there’s the looming question surrounding Brandon Ingram’s future in New Orleans. The former All-Star forward is in the final year of his current contract and is seeking a max extension worth $45 million to $50 million per year. New Orleans is a team that has never paid the luxury tax in its history, so Ingram’s asking price is too high for the Pelicans with major contracts on the books like Williamson, CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray.
Given that Ingram will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, it’s likely that the Pelicans will step up trade talks as the deadline approaches if Ingram and his team fail to cut their numbers. Trading Ingram for some size in the frontcourt is ideal for the Pelicans, and the team has flirted with acquiring Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen in the past.
Health and focus are the main keys for the Pelicans this season. On paper, they have the talent to compete, but they don’t have a rich winning history within the franchise. New Orleans is looking for its third consecutive winning season in franchise history and will need to do so to qualify for the playoffs in a crowded Western Conference.
