The New Orleans Pelicans are falling apart while they wait for Zion Williamson to make his NBA debut, but they should at least find out how it looks with their future star.
Offseason expectations set in October are now becoming points of ire for fans of the New Orleans Pelicans fans, as the franchise is on their worst historical stretch as they await the NBA debut of Zion Williamson.
Riding a 12-game losing streak and a 6-21 record that ties the team with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks for the second-worst record in the league, even the addition of Williamson isn’t going to swing this team into a playoff threat.
Even if they hunt for the eighth seed, their season will end before May of 2020 without an NBA championship ring.
As trade targets continue to reveal themselves as this summer’s free agents become eligible on the market, Pelicans’ guards J.J. Redick and Jrue Holiday have quickly found themselves at the center of trade talks in New Orleans.
Yet what that also means is Jrue Holiday is indeed available via trade, league sources say. It would surely cost a significant amount to pry him away from the Pels, but this is a notable change in status given how unavailable Holiday was to interested teams last season
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) December 17, 2019
While Redick and Holiday likely won’t be around when this team wins a title, both are more-than-capable talents that could help push a contender over the edge. With that said, it would be irresponsible for the New Orleans Pelicans to move the two before they know how the two functions with Zion Williamson in their lineup.
Drafted with the first pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and with a potential impact oft compared to the prowess of someone like LeBron James, Zion Williamson is the future of this Pelicans franchise.
Unlike the meager job Dell Demps did with Anthony Davis, David Griffin is responsible for building a roster that will help Zion deliver the first NBA title to the city of New Orleans.
That job started in April when the team brought him on as general manager but is almost certain to extend over at least the next seven-to-eight years as the Pelicans’ can control Williamson’s early-careers contracts with his rookie scale deal in addition to any potential restricted free agency.
Holiday, who’s averaging 19.4 points, 6.8 assists, and 5 rebounds per contest gives this team a two-way edge but was brilliant in augmenting what the team could do with another superstar in Anthony Davis on the court.
Meanwhile, Redick was an exciting addition for this team due to the spacing he would give this team, in addition to Zion Williamson on the inside. If this team trades Redick, they’ll be losing a league-best shooter and floor spacer, one who scores 16.1 points per game and at an insane 45.1% clip from three-point territory.
While these two might wind up falling into in a ton of assets in return, which this team can use to build their future contending roster, you have to know if these guys just really click with a Zion Williamson-led team. If you give up on that now, you might lose a chance to build a roster that perfectly suits what Zion does best.
In the offseason, this team received heavy praise for their moves around the league, mostly because the moves seemed perfect for what Williamson does best. The New Orleans Pelicans would only hurt themselves if they don’t learn what they have when they combine the tough veterans with their jaw-dropping 19-year-old rookie.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of decisions to make about the future of this roster, but they really don’t need to make any drastic moves until Zion Williamson gets to play a few games with everyone on the squad.