It finally happened. The Anthony Davis trade has materialized and we can now look towards the future as the New Orleans Pelicans usher in the Zion Williamson Era. With his departure, a new center will be needed. Here are some options New Orleans could consider.
It is sad to see Anthony Davis, the face of the franchise, leave this way, but this is what he said he wanted back in January. There’s no need to be bitter with this new front office. When Adrian Wojnarowski broke the trade news Saturday, and NBA, New Orleans Pelicans, and Los Angeles Lakers Twitter exploded. “Who won the trade?!?” “OH MY GOD, IT HAPPENED!” “The Lakers gave up too much!” “New Orleans Pelicans are must see TV!!!”
It was a wild night. But now, we need to come back to Earth and look at what we did lose; an elite rebounder and shotblocker in the post with a good jumper and some stroke from three point range. As it stands, Jahlil Okafor is the only true center on the roster with Julius Randle opting out yesterday as well. We are going to look at a few free agent options to address the glaring need of an upper level center to get back as much of the production in the post as we can with the Anthony Davis departure.
There is a lot to look at as we get closer to the 2019 NBA Draft and the pending free agent period shortly after. The New Orleans Pelicans need to make sure the beginning of the Zion Williamson Era gets off on the best foot possible by nailing the draft and free agency.
David Griffin has done astonishingly well since he took over, so hope is high for this organization. Here are some upcoming free agent centers that the New Orleans Pelicans should take a look at to secure the post for the next few years.