New Orleans Pelicans Would Be Committing 'Franchise Malpractice' By Doing This

If the New Orleans Pelicans continue to operate with how their roster is currently constructed, they would be making a major mistake.

Sep 26, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin during a press conference at the New Orleans Pelicans Media Day from the Smoothie King Center / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

With roughly two weeks until the New Orleans Pelicans begin training camp in preparation for the upcoming season, their roster is largely set barring a shocking late move.

After trying to find a trade partner to ship Brandon Ingram out of town when contract negotiations broke down, it looks like the All-Star wing will be on this team at the start of the year, creating an interesting situation before things even get going.

He already missed voluntary minicamp that he had previously put together, something only Daniel Theis was absent from because he was recovering from the Olympics.

How everything fits together early in the season will be seen after they landed Dejounte Murray in a blockbuster deal this summer that decimated their center position. The aforementioned Theis is the only starting caliber big man on this roster, with rookies Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic backing him up.

Executive vice president of basketball operations, David Griffin, has talked about the Pelicans embracing a small-ball lineup that would put Zion Williamson at center.

While that was an effective lineup of theirs last year, running that full-time could prove to be a major mistake when it comes to the health of their injury-prone superstar and how poorly they might rebound.

Landing a big man has been a topic of discussion throughout the offseason, but without teams interested in Ingram at this point and training camp set to get underway soon, the chances of that happening before Opening Night are slim.

That's why Dan Favale of Bleacher Report thinks it would be a nightmare scenario for New Orleans if they aren't able to land a center at some point this year, going so far as to calling it close to "franchise malpractice" if they don't address that position.

"How many viable contenders have a pecking order in which their top center ranks [as the team's eighth- or ninth-best player] on the in-house scale? The answer is zero," he added.

It's hard to argue with that.

The most important thing the Pelicans have to think about is the health of Williamson.

It's clear that when he's on the court, he is one of the premiere players in the game with his career averages of 24.7 points on 59.2% shooting, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and one steal per contest.

The problem is, out of 400 possible games, he's only played in 184.

Running a small-ball lineup where Williamson is banging down low with players bigger than him is a recipe for disaster, especially if he has to become the team's primary rebounder where he's constantly going after missed shots in traffic.

New Orleans should have a center at the top of their target board when the season starts, ready to put together a package that lands them someone who fits into the offensive and defensive schemes that head coach Willie Green is deploying.