An injury-plagued second half of the season saw the Pelicans crash out of the playoff race in Willie Green’s first year at the helm after possessing the conference’s best record as late as mid-December thanks to an early surge. The health of All-Stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram is paramount for the Pels who will hope that several of their other core guys continue their development. In these previews, we will take a look at each team’s key acquisitions, fantasy stars, and projected finish.
Key Acquisitions
New Orleans’ moves came only around the fringes over the offseason with their hopes mostly hinging on internal improvements.
In comes UConn’s Jordan Hawkins, the final pick of the lottery, who will look to eat into some of the minutes available as a result of Josh Richardson’s departure.
Regarded as the draft’s premier shooter, Hawkins will look to make an impact early on and solidify himself in the Pelicans’ already busy wing rotation.
E.J. Liddell also offers the team a handy frontcourt option after the Ohio State product sat out his rookie campaign a year ago with an ACL tear suffered prior to the season.
They lose Jaxson Hayes but replace him with Cody Zeller who played his way into the Heat’s rotation through their run to the NBA Finals back in June.
Fantasy Stars
Ingram (49th overall, 21st SG/14th SF/17th PF) and Williamson (61st overall, 20th PF/21st C) are both coming off injury-plagued seasons – Ingram played in 45 games and Williamson in just 29 – and will be eager to get over their availability issues this season.
Both All-Star level talents and then some when healthy, Ingram averaged 24.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5.8 apg on 58.2 TS% last season whilst Williamson put up 26.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 4.6 apg on 65.2 TS%.
Projected Finish
The Pelicans are a difficult team to get a gauge on; last year, we saw their highs – a Western Conference-best 18-8 through mid-December – and their worst – a 10-game losing streak in late-January – fuse to create a team whose season ended with a play-in loss on their home floor.
With their main guys healthy, they are an unquestionably good team, but Ingram has missed 64 games over the past two seasons and Williamson 135.
Their health woes already seem to have reared their head with improving wing Trey Murphy III already unavailable for the start of their season due to a meniscus tear.
Williamson, however, is the big one; the Pelicans need their superstar to be on the court this season or else some uncomfortable conversations will need to be had.
If he can play in 60-plus games as he did his sophomore season, a top-six finish in the West will not just be realistic for the Pels but expected.
