Pelicans Will Waste Another Season if They Don't Trade for a Center

The New Orleans Pelicans' offseason silence is reaching new levels with each passing day. It has been three weeks since free agency began, and the Pelicans have yet to make a single move. The 14 players currently on the roster all finished last season in New Orleans. Kevon Looney is the only player from last year's team who departed this summer.

Given that this group won 26 games last season, this is a shocking decision by the front office. At this point, it's not clear whether they are even looking to add to this roster. The trade buzz surrounding Herb Jones and Trey Murphy has completely died down, and we have never heard of any plans to trade Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, or Zion Williamson.

Pelicans' Center Rotation Is Somehow Even Worse Than It Was Last Season

If the plan is to start next season with this core, this is organizational malpractice. What the Pelicans needed to do this summer was made obvious all of last year when they had the worst center rotation in the NBA. Instead of adding more center depth and quality, New Orleans lost Looney and didn't acquire anyone else.

As things stand now, the only traditional centers on the roster are Yves Missi and DeAndre Jordan. Karlo Matkovic, Derik Queen, and Zion Williamson can all play small-ball center in specific matchups, but that creates significant defensive concerns. Considering that Jordan is only on the team for locker room presence, the Pelicans will continue to have the worst center play in the league.

Missi is underrated and can help the team, but he played less than 20 minutes per game last season. He is better suited as a backup.

This means that the Pelicans are likely counting on Queen, Williamson, and Matkovic to play extended minutes at the five. Queen will presumably get the lion's share of minutes there.

Giving Queen some minutes at center makes sense. It's too early to give up on his ability to play center, even though he was a disaster there. However, this can't be the Plan A going into the season.

Last season, the Williamson-Queen frontcourt pairing was extremely porous defensively as neither player was able to rebound or protect the rim. They are also a poor fit offensively as two non-shooters who need the ball in their hands.

Talking in absolutes is a mistake in basketball, but I feel pretty confident in saying that it's nearly impossible to have an average defense when Queen and Williamson are on the floor together. It's so clear that both players need to play next to a rebounding, shot-blocking defensive anchor. The fact that the Pelicans have yet to acquire one this far into the offseason is a big mistake.

This roster simply can't be competitive in the Western Conference. The sooner the front office notices this and addresses this glaring weakness, the better it will be, but Pelicans fans won't be holding their breath.

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