NBA Fantasy Preview 2021-22: New Orleans Pelicans

In a 30-part series leading up to the start of the 2021-22 National Basketball Association season, we will take a look at each NBA franchise from a fantasy perspective. The 19th team we will review is the New Orleans Pelicans.

When the New Orleans Pelicans come to mind, you instantly think of their big man in Zion Williamson, the first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft out of the prestigious Duke University. Now Williamson, who is at 6’7″, 285 pounds, will be joined in the paint this year by another big man in Jonas Valanciunas, who is 6’11”, 265 pounds, who the Pelicans acquired in an offseason three-way trade with the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets. The test for new Pelicans head coach Willie Green will be how to maximize the performance of both Williamson and Valanciunas this season.

Being Canadian, I am very familiar with Valanciunas and what he brings to the table for his team. The former Toronto Raptor who played eight seasons in Canada before being traded to the Grizzlies for Marc Gasol, should be considered one of the most underrated centers in the NBA. Last season he had 1938 fantasy points*, which was 11th in the league. Valanciunas had a field goal percentage of .592, free throw percentage of .773, 1058 points, 776 rebounds, 112 assists, 35 steals, 57 blocks and 100 turnovers.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This is Williamson’s team. Ranked sixth in the NBA last year among power forwards in fantasy points with 2243, the 21-year-old native of Salisbury, North Carolina had a .611 field goal percentage, .698 free throw percentage, 1647 points, 441 rebounds, 226 assists, 57 steals, 39 blocked shots and 167 turnovers.

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There might be some questions with Williamson’s foot to start the year. He did have offseason foot surgery, but is expected to be ready for the start of the year. You simply cannot ignore a player who has a .611 field goal percentage percentage, so that is why Williamson needs to be drafted high.

Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram is ranked sixth among small forwards and 11th among power forwards. Last season he had 2076 fantasy points at small forward and 1969 fantasy points at power forward. His 1450 points were fifth in the NBA among small forwards. Ingram also had a field goal percentage of .466, free throw percentage of .878, 143 three-pointers, 1450 points, 299 rebounds, 296 assists, 42 steals and 154 turnovers.

The other two projected Pelicans in the starting five are point guard Devonte’ Graham, and Canadian shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.  Graham did have a respectable 14.8 points per game last season with Charlotte, but only had a .377 field goal percentage. We need to see more of Alexander-Walker before being trusted in fantasy, as he only has 14 NBA starts under his belt.

*Please note: To calculate NBA fantasy points for point guards, shooting guards and small forwards, I use the formula (3PTM+Points+Rebounds+Assists+Steals-Turnovers). For power forwards and centers, I use the formula (Points+Rebounds+Assists+Steals+Blocks-Turnovers).

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