Could New Orleans Pelicans Could Pull Saints, Host Training Camp in California?

The Pelicans plan to get together this summer for a minicamp training session.

Dec 4, 2023; Sacramento, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) gestures while talking with guard CJ McCollum (right) during the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

With the NBA season less than two months away, the New Orleans Pelicans are organizing a voluntary minicamp in California. Will Guillory from The Athletic reports all players are attending except for center Daniel Theis. The German-born veteran played for his home Olympic team this summer during the 2024 Summer Games.

The Pelicans similarly organized a player's camp in 2022, with forward Brandon Ingram spearheading the efforts to get the team together. Ingram told Pelicans on SI's Terry Kimble during Media Day that season that getting together can build a nice bond and chemistry.

"It's always fun hooping with the guys that you're going to go to war with," Ingram explained. "It's important to check in with the guys to make sure nobody's going off and check in to see how we wanted to do things this year."

New Orleans lost a ton of depth from a season ago, so there are going to be new faces in different places on the team. Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance, Jr., Cody Zeller, Naji Marshall, and Dyson Daniels are all off to new teams. Dejounte Murray, Daniel Theis, rookies Yves Missi and Antonio Reeves, and veteran Javonte Green are the newcomers for a Pelicans team trying not to repeat disappointment in the playoffs again.

The team went out in the first round for the second time in three years, with the mysterious part of what this team looks like as a complete unit. New Orleans star forward Zion Williamson injured his hamstring during a Play-In Tournament game against the Los Angeles Lakers, missing out on the playoffs again.

Williamson has not played in a single playoff game in his five-year career. The Pelicans can never reach their full potential until their best player participates in the postseason.

New Orleans also does not have a starting-caliber center on the roster. Losing so much frontcourt depth this summer will force the Pelicans to play small ball a bunch this upcoming year. Williamson played less than 10% of the year at center, but odds are those numbers will rise by necessity.

Theis is an undersized big at just 6-foot-8 and the Pelicans' rookie center Yves Missi has only played three years of organized basketball. The center position will be a group by committee this year and getting the team together early for training and camaraderie could be beneficial. The same is true with incorporating a player like Dejounte Murray into the lineup.

Murray is an All-Star caliber guard with a unique set of skills both on offense and defense. His arrival will be interesting to see who gets playing time in the crunch amongst the vast talent on the Pelicans roster. New Orleans coach Willie Green must turn the team away from the bad habits exhibited in close games last season. The summer camp will be a positive step toward building team unity for the upcoming season.