The 4 storylines to watch at New Orleans Pelicans media day

Does the front office and coaching staff really love the new guys from LA?

We can debate what was the bigger move for the Pelicans this offseason; picking Zion atop the NBA Draft or finally closing the deal on the Anthony Davis trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. What can’t be debated is the significant talent the team acquired from the Davis deal, which gives them more capable players than any roster in recent memory.

All playing in Los Angeles for the last two-to-three season, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart joined the New Orleans Pelicans when Davis was swapped to the Lakers. Given that none of them are talents Griffin drafted, their current attachment to this roster is truly only as good as the results they post on the court.

Hart seems pretty safe in New Orleans. The Pelicans desperately need floor spacers and scoring on this roster, Hart being one of the rare guys on the squad to provide those features. He also seems to really be enjoying the city’s culture and should be relatively inexpensive to keep as a weapon off the bench.

However, it’ll be Ball and Ingram who really have something to prove this season; both are former second-overall picks in the NBA Draft. Ingram will likely be in the starting lineup and Ball will at the very least be the first name off the bench, if not in a starting role. With a lot of young talent behind them, they’ll need to play well to keep earning their minutes. With Nickeil Alexander-Walker and bigger players that could push Zion to the small forward, it’s easy for Gentry to hand out minutes if those players don’t perform to their potential.

Part of me wonders if David Griffin’s play for Ingram and Ball is really just to maximize their trade value, seeking a better fit alongside Williamson for the future. This team will need perimeter shooting, which makes it hard to keep Ball and Ingram in the starting five into the foreseeable future unless one of the two can make a significant leap.