New Orleans Pelicans Insider Reveals Plans for Lineup, Style of Play Next Season

The New Orleans Pelicans don't have a perfectly synced roster, but the coaching staff is going to do what they can with what they have.

Apr 14, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green gives direction to forward Zion Williamson (1) on a time out against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

As currently constructed, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green is going to have some extremely difficult decisions to make with his lineup.

Because of the inability to find a taker for Brandon Ingram on the trade market, the Pelicans are stuck with a logjam on the perimeter. After adding Dejounte Murray in a blockbuster trade, there are not enough starting spots to go around.

As long as Ingram remains on the roster, he is a lock for the starting five. The same can be said about Murray and Zion Williamson.

It is fair to presume that Green will use a traditional center to anchor the lineup, which is four players. That leaves one spot for CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones.

All three certainly deserve a starting spot and big minutes. But, even if Ingram was traded, at least one of them would be coming off the bench.

No matter how things shake out, someone is likely going to be disappointed with their playing time. There are only so many minutes to go around. But, in a mailbag at NOLA.com, Christian Clark revealed that there may be one workaround to this issue.

Someone asked if Clark believes David Griffin and Green are on the same page when it comes to the center position. The insider does think trading Ingram for a starting center was the plan, but no deal materialized.

Instead, a change in lineup philosophy could be on the horizon.

“I have been told the Pelicans coaching staff already is preparing to play “small and fast” this season. I can’t speak to any frustration the coaching staff might have about the team’s roster. All I know is that there is acceptance this is the roster they have,” Clark wrote.

In this day and age of positionless basketball, small and fast is the way most teams are leaning. But, that hasn’t been something Green leans into too often, as New Orleans has almost always deployed one traditional big man at all times on the court.

A major reason for that is his game plan on the defensive end of the court. Green has always valued performance on that side of the court, even if it meant sacrificing some offense.

Should they lean into a smaller, faster game plan as Clark has heard, the defense will likely suffer a hit. There are a lot of things that Williamson, the presumed small-ball center, does well, but anchoring the defense as a rim protector is not one of them.