The Pelicans Have to Blow it Up This Season

Lost in what has been a forgettable season down in New Orleans is that Zion Williamson has been a significant part of it.

Uh, often injured Zion, the former number one pick, has been active for 43 games this season, including every Pelicans game since mid-December.

So he's been out there.

He's been playing.

The numbers are pretty good.

22 points per game, 58.5% from the floor.

His rebounding is a little bit down.

He's still not a three-point shooter, but this is You know, the most we've seen, the most consistency we've seen on from Zion in a few years now, um, but the Pelicans are still not winning basketball games because of that.

Uh, New Orleans got a lot of decisions to make at the end of the year, ET.

They've got, you know, they've got some, some big calls to make.

Maybe the biggest is what to do with Zion Williamson, because right now he's shown that he can be healthy, he's shown he can be productive.

I This offseason, the time where the Pelicans have to move off of Zion Williamson, or do you still think he's the kind of guy that they can build a team around?

Build a team around is kind of like touchy, like, you know what I mean?

Because he's already showed in the past few years, like I think building a team around, and I'm using Dame Lillard as an example, guys that accept that position.

As a franchise player, you look at the Jayson Tatum's, even you look at Jalen Brown, like guys that step up like a franchise player is much more than just points, you know what I mean?

It's energy is, it's, you know you're gonna count on them game in and game out aside from like when you put their, their foot to the fire.

So I don't, I, I would build, I would keep It's their fault they gave him the 200 million to start, like, you know what I mean, before, like, they signed him to that big contract, so.

If they were to keep him, I wouldn't build it around him, like when it comes down to like, I don't.

I wouldn't want to make him a max guy, you know what I'm saying?

But I think I can see how he could be dominant still just being an energy player.

I'm a big fan of Trey Murphy.

I'm a big fan of some of their younger guys, but to be able to build around him, you have to rely on his leadership skills and, and it has it.

And it hasn't developed that much with and neither has his jump shot.

You understand what I'm saying?

He's been the exact same player, which is good enough to be dominant.

Since he's been on, you know, since he's left college, the only difference is, is making sure he's been on the floor.

And I think when it comes down to that, you, you, you might not find another player like Zion that can do what he, he can do, but to make him your focal point, you, you, you can't have that.

You can't have that whatsoever.

He's got to be your 2nd or 3rd guy because at the end of the day, he's shown that's who he is.

Even when you put 58%.

22 points isn't nothing to hoot and holler at and own regardless.

That's a second option, third option if you want it.

If you're really trying to get to where you wanted to go.

Yeah, look, Derrick Queen has made Zion redundant.

Like Derrick Queen is kind of Zion light, does a lot of the same things that Zion Williamson does.

And if you've got Derrick Queen, another 6 nine-ish big man who's not really a center, but You, you know, play, you don't really need Zion there.

That kind of fills that role.

And among the reasons Zion's numbers have gone down is because his usage rate has gone down.

Like it's at a, a career low right now.

This team is just not running as much offense through Zion Williamson as they used to, and Derrick Queen is.

A big reason why.

Look, the, the future of the Pelicans, you can see it.

Like Derrick Queen is the future.

Like they, they gave up that draft pick and that may haunt them forever if that turns out to be number one.

But Derrick Queen can play.

Like I, I was a little on the fence, man, about Derrek Queen going to the draft.

I saw a guy that didn't jump very high and he had one.

Those like Tim Tebow-like releases on his jump shot, but he, he can play , like he can play those intangibles that touch all those things like he is a real guy.

I think he can be an all-star.

Uh, Jeremiah Pierce, another good pick, another guy I wasn't sure about, 18 years old coming to the draft.

I'm like, all right.

Is, is he worth the, the draft capital they used on him, that top, what, 6 or 7 pick, uh, but averaging 13 points a game, his ceiling, I think is really high.

He's a 32% 3-point shooter right now, but that's gonna get better.

Like, he, he's gonna be a player.

So they've got one position covered, they've got another position covered, you know, Yves Missy, I think is a guy that can play for them.

Another one that's 21, 22.

Years old, like, they've got their foundation there.

What I think the Pelicans should do this summer is just start to get some of that draft capital, like, see what you can get for Zion.

Like Zion to me.

Like, you could start pitching Zion to the teams that don't get Giannis, right?

Like, everybody's gonna be going after Giannis this before the draft.

Whoever doesn't get him, it's probably 6 or 7 of those teams.

All right, say, hey, well, sorry about that, man.

Like you didn't get Giannis, I know you really want him, but how about this guy?

How about Zion?

He played 65 games for us this past year.

He's gonna give you 20s, a unique offensive talent.

I think there'll be interested.

I think there could be a bidding war for teams, uh, for Zion Williamson.

Look at Chicago, who we're gonna get to in a minute.

Is any team need?

Star more than Chicago.

Miami, they love stars down in Miami.

Um, they could have taken, take a flyer.

I don't know if I like Zion in Miami, but yeah, no, I, I just, I, I just think like the culture or somebody's gonna be like, bro, you playing today, bro, you playing today.

Do whatever you need to do.

You are playing today.

Yeah, I think the, I think the tougher calls are with like Herb Jones, who's 27 years old, still young, uh, uh, Trey Murphy, who's 25 years old, still young.

Like do those guys fit in to the Pelicans' timeline with these young guys that we're talking about?

If they do, great, they're, they're two-way players, especially Herb Jones, who's really good.

Trey Murphy is really good too, man.

Trey Murphy can shoot the, shoot the crap out of the ball.

He's, he's legit.

Uh, and look, going in the Pelicans kind of showed their hand a little bit, the trade deadline, because teams that called them, they were getting told like, don't talk to us unless you're dangling two first-round picks.

Like they were, were, were setting the bar high for Herb Jones and, and Trey Murphy.

But if you get to the summer and you've got a two-way wing in Herb Jones, who I think is worth multiple first-round picks, and you got a guy that can shoot the lights out in Trey Murphy who's worth at least one first-round pick, maybe you start thinking that like this could be the offseason, ET where The Pelicans get a boatload of draft capital, and you get that draft capital.

You've got the, the power forward slash center position covered with Queen.

You got point guard cover with Jeremiah fears.

Missy, you know, I don't know what his, his ceiling is, but he's a good player.

Uh, you got, you got the makings of something there.

Now, if the Hawks wind up getting number one and Draft like AJ Deanza, and maybe you can go cry into uh your smoothie King or whatever it is.

But um that's, but you got some, you got something going down there, I think in New Orleans.

This is the year I think they gotta start offloading some of these guys and I would start with Zion.

Yeah, and I'm, I'm, I'm not against it 100%, especially if you're gonna have to rebuild over the next couple of years, so I definitely agree with that.