New Orleans Pelicans: Meet the 16-year-old who will change the NBA

The New Orleans Pelicans and the rest of the NBA have their eyes on the next unicorn.

The New Orleans Pelicans have a treasure chest of future draft picks and it is never too early to think about what they might do with them.

NBA executives were drooling when footage of 16-year-old Victor Wembanyama emerged on Twitter.

If you’ve not heard of Wembanyama, you are not alone, but many are calling him the best basketball prospect in the world.

The teenager stands 7-foot-3 with an amazing 8-foot wingspan, has handles like a guard and can already shoot from range. Is this even possible?

New Orleans Pelicans: NBA is getting bigger and more skilled.

While the concept of “small-ball” has been all the rage the last few seasons, the truth is that is not the direction the NBA is headed.

Soon, the league may be populated by these types of 7-footers, who play like guards and have never heard of posting up. We’ve already seen the beginning with guys like Nikola Jokic and Kristaps Porzingis, guys who are huge but play like guards.

It’s not that the league is going smaller, just the opposite, it is going bigger but with guys who are skilled.

Just look at the Lakers, who ran out LeBron James as point guard and often surrounded him with 7-footers. Or how about  Denver, who put Jokic at point guard at times, or Dallas who has a 6-foot-7 point guard in Luka Doncic to go along with their own 7-foot-3 unicorn in Porzingis.

Victor Wembanyama could be the next to join this list. The kid is still just 16 but has been playing professionally since he was 15-years-old, the second-youngest player to ever suit up in the EuroCup.

He put up massive numbers in the FIBA U16 European Championship, averaging nine points, 9.6 rebounds and an impressive 5.3 blocks per game.

Victor Wembanyama has been billed as “Porzingis with defense” which is a pretty scary thought for the NBA coaches who have to figure out how to defend guys like this.

As the NBA continues to evolve, we are going to see players get bigger and more skilled. We’re going to see more players like Jokic, Porzingis and Wembanyama, seven-footers who can do it all.

The New Orleans Pelicans would love to add a guy like this next to Zion Williamson, as they need a big who can make plays and defend the rim.

Who knows, with all of their future picks Victor Wembanyama might just end up in New Orleans, where he and Zion would form a tandem like the world has never seen.