New Orleans Pelicans Rookie Receives Bold Prediction From NBA Expert

An NBA expert is expecting a New Orleans Pelicans rookie to make an immediate impact this season.

Oct 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) reacts against the Orlando Magic at Smoothie King Center. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The biggest question involving the New Orleans Pelicans heading into the 2024-25 season is what they are going to do at the center spot.

Some reports have surfaced that they plan on using Herbert Jones as their starting center. One of the most versatile defenders in the NBA, and it would be a waste of his skill set to have him overmatched against interior opponents every night.

Listed at 6’7”, the Pelicans will be eaten alive on the interior. His strength is as a perimeter; making him the center to match up against big men on the block would be a disaster waiting to happen.

Alas, someone has to play that spot. Zion Williamson is too valuable as a help defender to have him in the big man spot defensively, putting head coach Willie Green in a pinch.

One player that could certainly emerge as the season moves along is Yves Missi.

A first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, selected No. 21 overall out of Baylor, he has the size and athleticism teams are looking for in the center position. He is a raw player offensively, but the tools are there for him to be able to make a nightly impact.

Heading into the campaign, he could be a factor off the bench. Given the dearth of options at the center spot, he and Daniel Theis will have to soak up minutes in the middle. 

Gradually, his role could grow into being a starter down the road. That is the path Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes the rookie will take, sharing a bold prediction for how Missi’s rookie campaign will unfold.

The NBA expert has predicted the Baylor product will be this season’s version of Dereck Lively II. A first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Duke by the Dallas Mavericks, he emerged late in the season as the team’s preferred option in the middle.

“Once he acclimates to the NBA, he fits what the Pelicans need at center. That may be as a spot-starter, but most of his minutes will come as a reserve,” Pincus wrote.

One of the areas that New Orleans has to find ways to improve is with their rim protection. Despite having a strong defensive unit, they ranked near the bottom in that regard in recent seasons.

It is shaping up to be a weakness again, especially if they use a starting lineup that no one is taller than 6’7” in.

Missi has a lot of development left, but the strengths he possesses heading into his first season in the league match up perfectly to what the team needs.