New Orleans Pelicans Still Have One Glaring Need on Roster

The New Orleans Pelicans have a sizable hole to fill in their lineup just weeks ahead of the season.

Nov 20, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) shakes hands with coach Willie Green against the Sacramento Kings during the second half at the Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans are just weeks away from the 2024-25 NBA regular season getting underway. Despite the start being right around the corner, they still have a glaring need to address in their lineup.

As currently constructed, the Pelicans have a logjam on the wing and are in desperate need of an upgrade at the center position.

This problem arose after Larry Nance Jr. was used as part of the package to land Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks and Jonas Valanciunas departed in free agency, landing with the Washington Wizards.

New Orleans isn’t lacking in players to soak up minutes in the middle. They signed veteran Daniel Theis and drafted Yves Missi out of Baylor with their first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Karlo Matkovic looked good during the NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024 and they claimed Trey Jemison from the Memphis Grizzlies.

What the team is lacking is someone worth starting at the pivot. Willie Green prefers a more traditional center, valuing defense over offense, but can he justify starting one of the aforementioned players and kicking two of Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy and CJ McCollum to the bench?

That has led to a bold suggestion from Tim Bontemps of ESPN. He believes New Orleans should consider unleashing a small-ball death lineup with Zion Williamson at the center spot. A starting five of Murray, Jones, Murphy, Brandon Ingram and the former No. 1 overall pick with McCollum becoming the team’s Sixth Man.

“It creates one of the league's most fascinating five-man units but one lacking interior size due to playing three wings with Williamson at center. There doesn't appear to be a better option available. Not starting either Murphy or Jones at the expense of a traditional center would be a significant talent downgrade in the starting unit,” Bontemps wrote.

That is a lineup combination that Green should certainly lean on in certain situations. Good luck scoring on the perimeter with three elite defenders in Murray, Jones and Murphy spearheading the game plan. Ingram and Williamson, when engaged, are no slouches defensively either.

But, it is hard to envision that being a lineup Green starts games with and uses regularly given the lack of size. A team whose identity is built on defense would be sacrificing a lot on that end of the court with Bontemps’ alignment.

Even if Green surprises people and goes with that approach, the team still needs help in the frontcourt. They would get steamrolled by the likes of Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis and Domantas Sabonis in the Western Conference using Williamson full-time in the middle.

If one of their current options doesn’t emerge as a go-to player for some size in the middle, a move will have to be made. Rumors are going to swirl until a resolution is found with Ingram.